The Love Triangle
by footsteps in the snow
Summary: Yet another "Erica comes back to Seattle..." fic. But what if Callie didn't have to choose?
1. Chapter 1

**So this is yet another "Erica comes back to Seattle…" fic. But it definitely has a twist! **

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**1**

As the all-too-familiar building came into view, Erica's stomach began to tighten, her knuckles turning white against the steering wheel. This wasn't in her plan. After leaving the drama of Seattle Grace in hopes of a calmer and more professional life at John Hopkins Hospital, the blonde never wanted to look back. But when Mercy West needed a new cardio surgeon, she couldn't just turn her cheek on the hospital that jump-started her career. So Erica reluctantly agreed to a step in temporarily, just until the Chief could find another to replace her.

Granted, all of the communication was done indirectly through the email of an obnoxiously peppy assistant. Erica just assumed she was speaking to the secretary of her original boss at Mercy West, so it was much to her surprise when she found out that Mercy West had _merged_ with Seattle Grace! And since when did Chief Webber need an assistant to do anything for him?

_Tap! Tap!_

Erica nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of knuckles rapping against her window. Opening the door, the blonde immediately walked into the one man could stand the least on this planet.

"Mark Sloan."

Mark's cocky smirk still managed to make Erica's skin crawl. His hair had peppered slightly in the couple of years since she had last seen him, but he was still the same greasy guy with "sexual tension" as his middle name. "Erica Hahn. I didn't expect to see you back here so soon….or really ever again."

"Believe me, Sloan, I didn't plan on coming back ever again. Or not to Seattle Grace, at least. The Chief of Mercy West asked me to come back. I had no idea that Seattle Grace and Mercy West had merged."

Mark's smile dropped. "The Chief asked you to come back?"

Erica sneered. "Yes. Apparently the second-hand surgeon this hospital brought in to replace me ran off, and since I am still the best—"

"Look," Mark interrupted, "I don't know why he asked you to come back and replace Teddy, but after the damage you left in your wake the last time, I suggest you tread lightly."

"Why do you even care why I'm here, Sloan? I could've only been here for one surgery and you never would have seen my face."

"I recognized your car," Mark explained. "I just wanted to make sure you weren't here with other intentions."

Erica rolled her eyes. "What other intentions? My reason for being here is purely medical."

"Well, the last time you came around you hurt my best friend. It took Callie a long time to get over you and now she is finally happy. So if your intentions truly are medical, then stay professional and keep away from her."

Erica stared at him. In all of the rush to get here on a moment's notice, she had nearly forgotten the whole reason she never wanted to come back.

"Don't worry, I won't go near her," Erica said, pushing past him. "I'm here to work, not to dwell on the past. And right now I'm late for my meeting with Chief Webber, so if you'd excuse me—"

Mark snorted. "Chief Webber? Webber hasn't been the Chief for months. Derek is the Chief now."

"_What?_"

****

Arizona stood half asleep against the nursing station, half-heartedly signing off charts while trying not to doze off and failing miserably. Just as her eyes began to shut off the world, a warm cup slid into her hand and a delicate tongue slid across her ear. Arizona giggled. "Mark, stop it."

"Mark?" Callie scoffed indignantly. "My tongue feels like Mark? And how do you even know what Mark's tongue feels like?"

Arizona giggled again, placing a gentle kiss against Callie's frown. "Kidding. I knew it was you. Believe me, I don't even know where Mark's tongue has been and I know your tongue very, very well."

Callie purred. "Want to meet me in an on-call room in half an hour and show me how well?"

Arizona sighed. "I would love to, babe, but I have a bunch of delinquent charts to take care of because I've been stuck with interns all week. Apparently pediatrics is a good place to stick new doctors, if you can call them that, who do not have a clue of what they're doing."

"I'm sure that is not the case. Unless they're Christina's interns, which I'm sure is the case. Everyone has just been a little off from trying to pick up the slack since Teddy left."

Arizona huffed. "I know that. Can I not vent without you being all reasonable?"

Callie chuckled at her girlfriend's pout, gently kissing her neck. "Drink coffee. On-call room, half an hour."

"No!" Arizona yelled with very little force at her girlfriend's back. Still smiling, she took her first sip of coffee. Just as the heat ran down her throat, slowly rejuvenating, the little piece of heaven was flung from her hand as another body ran into her. The chart Arizona had been meticulously fixing hit the ground right before her coffee, completely ruining all of its information.

"I'm so sorry!" A female voice cried, immediately bending down to help Arizona save the chart. "I didn't even see you there."

"Oh, it's alright," Arizona muttered, not looking up. "It's just one of those days…"

"I know exactly what you mean. My first day back, and I'm already running late and ruining charts. And it's barely nine A.M." Arizona nodded, finally looking up. The girl in front of her was a beautiful blonde with high cheek bones and far too many worry lines. Arizona stared at her, mouth agape.

_Zona, snap out of it! You are dating Callie. You LOVE Callie. This isn't your Cindy Crawford poster!_

Arizona shook her head, snapping out of her thoughts and smiling shakily at the woman in front of her.

The blonde watched her quizzically before saying, "Again, I'm sorry about the chart. I'm going to be around, so maybe I can make it up to you eventually."

Arizona stared at her wide-eyed, blurting out, "I'm going to have sex in an on-call room now." Then she promptly grabbed the ruined chart before turning around and wheeling her way down the nearest hallway.

Erica stared after the adorable blonde, shaking her head. _Different doctors, same hospital. Some things never change._

****

**So this is set with the current season, as I'm sure you can tell. All of the characters except for Teddy will most likely be in it, though some obviously more than others.**

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	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry about the lack of barriers in the last chapter! I put them in but they disappeared!**

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**2**

"You brought _her_ back? Seriously, Derek? What were you thinking?"

Derek sighed, dunking another miniature basketball into the basket. "I was thinking that she is a great doctor, Mark. She is the best, really."

"But she is _Erica_," Mark groaned, grabbing the ball from Derek's hands. "She hates your wife's best friend, she hurt my best friend. She has no business here!"

"Mark. This isn't about her history. Believe me, I do remember. But Teddy left, and this hospital has been turned upside down trying to cover the hole she left. Erica can fill that hole. She is the best of the best, end of discussion. And she is going to come in here for a meeting any second, so if you don't mind—"

"Oh, I do mind. I mind very much that you brought that she-devil back to this hospital. But you are the Chief. Just do me a favor, will you? Keep her away from Callie."

"Professionally, I can't do that, Mark. And on a personal level, that isn't my job. I hardly know Callie in comparison to your relationship with her. But if you feel that strongly, I will do what I can."

"That's all I ask," Mark said, popping in another basket before making his way toward the door. Just as he was leaving, Erica came in looking slightly flustered.

"Well, we seem to just keep bumping into each other, don't we? Just a coincidence?" Erica smirked.

Mark snarled. "Absolutely. Stay away from Callie!" Just as he finished his sentence, the door was slammed in his face. Whipping around, he immediately ran into a very curious Latina.

"Who needs to stay away from Callie?" Callie asked with slight amusement in her tone.

"No one," Mark grumbled. "Don't worry about it. You seem to be in a good mood."

"You could say that," Callie replied. "I saved a man's foot that was riddled with gangrene this morning and am now setting off to have wonderful sex with my wonderful girlfriend. Life is looking up, you know? Compared to a year and a half ago, life is seriously looking up."

"Yeah, and let's keep it that way," Mark muttered. "What's up with this happy-go-lucky attitude? You aren't happy-go-lucky. You are dark. And moody. And sassy. And—"

"You are just in a bad mood because I'm getting laid and you aren't."

"Well, the nurses hate me and the interns are too stupid to even be worth good sex. Except for Lexie. But Lexie is…"

"Still totally in love with you? Why yes, Mark, I quite agree. And unless you want to turn into a depressed hermit with no sex drive, I suggest you talk to her." With that, Callie walked off in the direction of the on-call rooms.

"She is with Alex!" Mark called after her. "And I can get laid! I have a great sex drive!" Looking around, he saw a pretty red-head in nurse's scrubs. "Hmm…fresh meat. Just what I need…"

****

By the time Callie made it to the on-call room where her girlfriend was waiting, Arizona had already dozed off. The Latina chuckled at her significant other. She knew Arizona could never sit quietly for long without falling asleep.

After watching her for a few moments, Callie snuck under the covers and wrapped her arms around the blonde. Arizona jumped at the contact, flipping around muttering, "I'm awake, I'm awake…"

Callie brushed a strand of hair from Arizona's face, kissing her nose. "No you aren't. You're exhausted. We can just cuddle if you'd rather."

Arizona sighed in relief. "Yes please." Nuzzling into Callie's neck, the blonde mentioned, "Looks like we have a new cardio surgeon."

"Oh really? It's about time. Who is it?"

"No idea," Arizona replied with a yawn. "She's cute…"

"Hey!" Callie chided, poking her in the side. "How cute?"

"Not as cute as you…" Arizona corrected, giggling. "But definitely easy on the eyes."

"So threesome worthy?"

Arizona perked up at this comment, no longer tired at all. "A threesome? Calliope Torres! I never expected that from you."

"Hey, I was completely straight and married. Now I am definitely into women, especially you, and in a very committed relationship. In between, I've been known to be somewhat…promiscuous. So no, a threesome is not totally out of the question. However, I want you much more than I would ever want anyone else."

"Well, as long as I come first," Arizona joked, kissing Callie sweetly. "But I'm not tired anymore, so if you still aren't convinced that I can't recognize your tongue…"

"Oh convince me please," Callie agreed, rolling on top of her girlfriend. Just as the two intertwined in a heated kiss, both fighting for dominance, a shrill beep coursed through the room.

Arizona groaned. "That's you."

"Ughhhh…" Callie growled in frustration. "Indeed it is. Finish this later?"

"Absolutely," Arizona agreed, popping one more kiss on her girlfriend's mouth as she headed out.

Once her girlfriend was gone, Arizona rolled over to face the wall, contemplating the entire conversation that had just happened. As her eyes slowly shut, her mind drifted over to the mysterious blonde. Was there more to this girl, or was she just a pretty face?

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	3. Chapter 3

**The more reviews I get, the more I want to write! **

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**3**

"You paged me?" Callie asked as she strode into the ER.

"Yeah," Mark replied. "It's another car crash victim. There are major lacerations to the face and scalp, as well as several broken bones. Care to help me out?"

"That's my job," Callie answered, immediately getting to work. "So, Zona told me something quite interested while we were…"

"You guys _talk_ while having sex?!" Mark cried, incredulous. "When I get it on, it's usually just a series of grunts and moans."

"Yes, I remember vividly. But no, we were cuddling at the time. She mentioned a new cardio thoracic surgeon. I hope she's good. Seattle Grace-Mercy West has seriously been slipping since Teddy left."

Mark froze. "Oh really?"

Callie nodded without looking up from her work. "Arizona apparently met her earlier this morning. Maybe at lunch I'll get to meet the new girl."

"Look, Cal, there's something you should know—"

"Finished. All of her bones have been set and cast. You need anything else before I go for rounds?"

"Nah, go ahead," Mark answered dejectedly. As Callie turned and headed out, he muttered, "Just that Erica is the new cardio goddess…and your girlfriend has the biggest mouth in this hospital…"

**GREYS**

"So, you're the big shot now?"

Erica sat in what she remembered as Webber's office. It completely blew her mind that _Shepherd_, of all the perfectly qualified doctors in this hospital, was the new Chief of Surgery. It was still some elite boys' club that she couldn't touch, and she knew it.

"Cut the crap, Hahn," Derek cut in. "Obviously, I didn't ask you back because of your people skills, considering you have nearly none. I asked you back because, likeable or not, you are the best. And right now we need the best. We just had a great cardio surgeon take leave for several months, and have been struggling to keep up. You've got a work load ahead of you from what Dr. Altman left behind. I suggest you get started."

"Great," Erica replied. The more work she had, the less of a personal life she had to maintain. "Where do I start?"

"Ty Mason. He is a seven-year-old in need of a heart transplant. He had his first transplant when he was three, but is now beginning to outgrow his heart. He is at the top of the donor list, so it shouldn't be long. Just work with Dr. Robbins to keep him happy and as healthy as possible."

"Wait," Hahn interrupted. "Who is Dr. Robbins?"

"Dr. Arizona Robbins," Derek said, "is the Head of the Pediatric Wing. She was hired shortly after you left. She works well with people, especially children. I think you could learn a lot from her."

Erica suppressed an eye roll. "Alright, I'll start there. How many other cases do I need to attend to?"

"All together, seventeen. Most are surgical, so the sooner we finish here, the better."

_Seventeen!?_ In her head, Erica was spinning, but on the outside she remained stone cold while shaking Shepherd's hand and leaving the office.

"Oh, and Dr. Hahn?" Derek called just as she opened the door. Erica turned to face him once again. "Don't expect to get much sleep in the next couple of weeks."

"Don't worry, Chief Shepherd," Erica replied with a smirk. "I don't plan to."

**GREYS**

Arizona sat at her usual lunch table, picking at her salad and waiting for Callie to finish rounds. Just as she tossed another leaf into her mouth, she was startled by a slam at the other end of the table.

"If you want my attention, Sloan, you could say hello," Arizona told him light-heartedly, hardly noticing the scowl carved in his face.

"You told her? Seriously, Zona?" Mark nearly yelled, hardly containing his wrath.

Arizona chuckled, finally becoming aware of his irritation. "I told who what?"

"Callie! You told Callie about Hahn being here, and it won't be long before—"

"Who is Hahn?" Arizona cut in, still lightly munching on her salad. "Is that the hot new cardio goddess?"

Mark choked on his sandwich. "A _hot goddess_? You really just called her a…look Robbins, Erica Hahn is not a goddess. She isn't even a good person."

"How do you know that? She just got here."

"Oh, I know. I know very well of her destruction. How do you not have any clue of who she is?"

Just as he finished his sentence, Callie walked up, planting a kiss on Arizona's head and taking a seat between the two now staring each other down. "What's going on here? I get the feeling this is more than a staring contest considering one could cut the tension with a knife."

Arizona finally turned to her, equipped with a small pout. "Baby," she started, gently rubbing her girlfriend's arm. "Who is Erica Hahn?"

Callie immediately snatched her hand away. "What about her? There is nothing about her worth mentioning except she was once a doctor here and now she isn't. And good riddance, if I do say so myself."

"Except now she is back," a low voice crisply cut in behind her. Chest tightening at the all-too-familiar voice, Callie slowly turned around to see the one person she had hoped to never see again. "Dr. Torres," Erica said with a stone cold smile. "Nice to see you again too."

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	4. Chapter 4

**GREYS**

Callie didn't move as the chaos whipped around her.

"Did you not hear me when I told you to stay away from her?!" Mark snapped, standing up while forcefully pushing his chair over. "Derek may have brought you back here, but it was not to wreak havoc in the lives of others!"

"Well, Sloan, I'm not the one causing the scene right now, am I?" Erica slyly answered. "And I didn't come here to find Dr. Torres. I came here to find Dr. Robbins. But I happened to hear my name and couldn't help but wonder about what gossip was already going around. So, if you could point me to Dr. Robbins, I have many cases to attend to, and I will be more than happy to stay out of your way."

"I'm Dr. Robbins," Arizona spoke up, a hesitant smile on her face and confusion in her eyes.

"Ah, we meet again," Erica said. "I hear you have a patient in need of a transplant. So if you have finished—"

"Not quite," Arizona interrupted. "What exactly is going on here?"

"Callie, why don't you explain," Mark retorted with a scowl. "Seeing as you should've told her in the beginnings of your relationship…"

"Relationship?" Erica cut in. "You're in a relationship with this woman? Wow, I thought you would have run right back to men as soon as I left."

"What are you talking about 'as soon as I left'?" Arizona fired, realization dawning on her. Turning to Callie she cried, "You _dated_ her?!"

"Callie—"

"Dr. Torres—"

"Calliope—"

"STOP!" Callie screamed, clutching at her throat. "I can't breathe. I can't…I have to go."

With that, she tripped over her chair while rushing out of the cafeteria. "DON'T follow me!" She yelled behind her as she disappeared.

The three stared after her for a moment, stared at each other, and finally managed to gain control again.

"Well, Dr. Robbins," Erica icily said, "If you can manage to put all of this drama away, I believe you have a patient for me to save."

"I'm sorry, I really need to—"

"She said don't follow," Dr. Hahn interrupted. "So I suggest you give her space. If this patient doesn't need me as much as I have been told he does, then I have sixteen other cases who most certainly do."

"No, no, Ty needs a heart," Arizona replied dejectedly. She turned to Mark. "Make sure she is okay?"

"Of course," Mark replied, trying to gain his cool. With that, Arizona got up and lead Erica out of the cafeteria.

**GREYS**

"Out of my way, Yang," Mark growled, attempting to push the resident out of his way.

"It doesn't matter if I'm in your way or not. Callie is not going to talk to you. She isn't going to talk to anyone. Leave her alone."

"She needs me. I'm her best friend."

Christina snorted. "She needs you? Callie Torres needs another human being as a shoulder to cry on? Do you even know her? Just leave her alone, Sloan."

Sloan grunted in reply, pushing past Christina. "You know what? Fine. Just tell her I'm looking for her."

"Will do," Yang replied with an eye roll and a mock salute. "Yeah, right…"

Still scowling, Mark continued down the hall, utterly disgruntled and not looking where he was going. Just as he made it to the elevator, a petite body nearly knocked him over. Once he regained his balance, Sloan looked down to see a small brunette scattered on the floor.

"Jeez, Lexie, watch where you're going."

"_Me?_" Lexie Grey exclaimed. "I'm actually working. You are huffing and puffing around the hospital and causing drama. And you think I am in the way?"

Mark grunted. "Shut up, Little Grey. I have better things to do than argue with you."

Lexie looked down, masking the hurt look on her face. He had never said anything so harsh while they were together. "Whatever, Sloan. I heard about what happened in the cafeteria while I was watching a surgery in the gallery. I was going to ask if you wanted me to talk to Callie, but if you're gonna be an ass, forget it."

Mark's stance immediately changed from defensive to apologetic. "I'm sorry, Lex. Since Hahn has gotten here, I've completely turned into a monster. And it's only been one day! I would really appreciate it if you would talk to Callie. She isn't letting anyone in."

Lexie smiled warmly, accepting his apology perhaps a little too quickly. "I'll do my best. I don't know her very well, but maybe she needs someone who has no history with her right now."

Mark nodded in agreement. "That is probably just what she needs. And I have a face lift, a tummy tuck, and a boob job to keep me distracted. Thanks, Lexie."

"No problem, Mark," Lexie replied as he turned his back. As she made her way upstairs, she tried to push back the familiar butterflies bubbling up in her stomach that always came from in conversation with her ex-boyfriend.

**GREYS**

"Ty Mason. Seven years old, in need of a heart transplant." As Arizona read off the chart to the unfamiliar blonde, her mind was spinning with confusion. Calliope had mentioned dating a woman before, but never really wanted to elaborate. Arizona never pushed her for details, having had bad breakups that she didn't want to relive as well. But Arizona never would've guessed that the woman she had been thinking about all day, even discussing a threesome with Calliope, was the one woman who had apparently torn her girlfriend's entire life apart and left her to pick up the pieces.

"His heart rate is fairly strong and his blood pressure is stable. I think he will be fine as long as he is monitored until we can find him a heart," Erica told her patient's parents. The parents gave their thanks to Dr. Hahn, smiling warmly at Arizona. Once they checked over Ty one more time, both quietly left the patient's room.

The doctors headed toward the elevator to begin rounds. "Where are you headed?" Arizona asked with a tentative smile.

Erica looked her way skeptically. "I have seventeen cases that need my expertise, and plenty of surgeries that need to be done as soon as possible. I am headed to the cardiac wing to get started on a very long week with very little sleep."

Arizona nodded her head in vague interest. Finally getting up the courage to ask, she started, "Dr. Hahn—"

"If you're going to ask about Dr. Torres, don't. What happened with us is the past. I am a professional. I don't have a personal life, and I don't want one. I absolutely loathe the drama of this hospital, and don't plan to be dragged in by anyone. But if you really want my opinion, I am honestly surprised she didn't inform you already. The Torres I knew was an open book." The elevator finally hit the floor of the cardiac wing. "Now I am off to do my job, and I would suggest you do the same."

Arizona stood in the elevator as the doors closed around her, completely blown away. Surely that wasn't the same woman she had met this morning who was so sweet and apologetic. Not stopping to think on the complete personality switch, the blonde waited for the elevator to open and wheeled off in the direction of her next patient.

**GREYS**

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	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry for the wait! Please still review!**

**GREYS**

"Dr. Torres?" Lexie hesitantly asked, shuffling her feet at the door. Why did she agree to this? Mark, of course. Mark and the stupidly adorable expression of worry written across his face…

"Go away, Little Grey. This doesn't concern you."

_Okay,_ Lexie thought, _enough with the Little Grey!_ Clearing her throat, she called through the door, "Well, I just thought I would let you know that there is a man in the ER whose legs were crushed by a car…but if you aren't interested—"

The door immediately opened, Callie quickly emerging from behind it. Lexie put one hand against the doorway, smirking up at the attending. "Got you. Don't call me Little Grey."

Callie scowled down at the intern. "Look, I don't know what Mark told you, but this is none of your business. I just need a few moments to gather myself so I can get on with my day, so if you don't mind—"

"He's really worried, you know," Lexie interrupted. "He's an ass. Almost everyone hates him. But you have his back. Now he wants to have yours and you're pushing him away. It just doesn't seem fair, that's all." Having said this, Lexie ducked her head and fled toward the stairs, leaving Callie standing dumbfounded in her wake.

At the bottom of the stairs, Mark waited. As soon as he saw Lexie bobbing down the stairs, he immediately bounded upward. Catching Callie's gaze, he bolted toward her. Just as he opened his mouth, Callie stopped him. "I'm going to call Addison tonight. Just stay away from her, Mark. No need to kick her ass just yet."

Mark sighed, bowing his head and digging his hands into his pockets. "Okay…"

Callie laughed at his demeanor, her heart slowly lifting. Linking her arm with his, she said, "Let's go find us some good surgeries."

**GREYS**

As Arizona left the hospital, rain was pouring. She had just finished an emergency surgery, so it was very late. She wasn't even sure if Callie would still be awake, though she hoped that she would be. The entire day Arizona had been distracted by the drama that had happened at lunch. Of course, she was worried about Callie and how upset she was. Arizona understood the Latina not wanting to elaborate on a previous relationship. But now that relationship was here in the Peds wing operating on Arizona's patient. It was time to explain.

As Arizona stood just outside the entrance, umbrella-less and debating whether to battle the bitter wind that accompanied the downpour, an umbrella appeared above her head. Arizona smiled brightly at the gesture, looking over to thank the kind rescuer. Her smile immediately dropped seeing it was none other than Erica.

"Well speak of the devil…" Arizona muttered.

Erica immediately stiffened. "Look, I'm not sure what Callie has told you, but I assure you that I am not the devil. What I did to Callie was unforgivable, but I honestly don't believe it deserves the title of devil. But if that's how you feel, then maybe I should just—"

"No, no," Arizona corrected. "It's just a saying. I was just thinking about the mess that happened earlier. I really appreciate the gesture." Hearing this, Erica exhaled slowly. Both walked in sync to the parking lot. "I haven't actually spoken to Calliope yet," Arizona finally said, breaking the silence. "It was a busy afternoon, and neither of our paths crossed. So whatever you did to hurt her is news to me."

"You should hear it from her," Erica replied, her face unreadable.

Arizona nodded. They walked on in silence until they reached Arizona's car. "Erica," Arizona called as the blonde turned her back. Erica froze and slowly turned to face her. "You shouldn't immediately assume I hate you because I'm dating Calliope. I'm a big girl. I can decide who is worth my time and who isn't on my own. You seem like a decent person. So…just don't count yourself out."

Erica stood for a moment, watching her. She then turned and replied coldly, "You should go. _Calliope_ is waiting."

**GREYS**

From outside the door of the apartment that she and Callie shared, Arizona could hear her girlfriend inside, talking animatedly on the phone. She already knew from the lightness of her tone that it was Addison on the other line.

Once she opened the door, she threw down her coat and keys, heading toward the living room where Callie was lying on the couch. Arizona came around the couch to sit in Callie's lap. The Latina immediately gave her girlfriend a kiss in greeting, saying to Addison, "I've got to go…yes she's home. Yes, I will tell her…you better! Alright, bye."

Putting her cell phone on the coffee table, Callie opened her arms for Arizona to crawl into. Weaving her fingers into the blonde's hair, she said, "Addison says hello. How was your day?"

Arizona sat up indignantly. "No. No, tonight is not a night for small talk. You know what we need to talk about, Calliope."

"I know, but can't it just wait a few minutes?" Callie whined, pulling Arizona in for a kiss.

Turning her head, Arizona replied, "Not when you _ex _and I have the same patient. Now I've gone through bad breakups, Calliope. Believe me I have. But I have never run out of any room as quickly as you did when Erica came in. I didn't even know who she was this morning! You have a lot of explaining to do, dear. Don't expect to be getting any action tonight."

"I know," Callie said, leaning back against the couch. "I should've told you about her before now. But I didn't think I would ever see her again. She was my past, and when I met you, my present and future, I didn't want to ruin it. I didn't want you to run like she did."

"Why did she run? Erica doesn't seem like the person to just leave a job without reason."

Callie shrugged, shifting slightly under Arizona's weight. "The surface reason was that she had issues with the way Webber handled a matter between Izzie Stephens and a certain patient. But everyone knows the real reason was me."

"You're sure about that?" Arizona interjected.

Callie nodded, explaining, "We had been dating…or sort of dating…for a few months. And then she was crying during sex and seeing leaves. She was so sure that she was a lesbian. And I was still figuring it out. A few events happened, ending with me siding with the hospital over Erica. And then she left.

"Once she was gone, I realized how much she meant to me. I had a really difficult time letting go of her. And Mark was my rock, which is why he holds such a grudge against her. He endured all of my emotional hardships, kept me from completely falling apart. I owe a lot to him."

Arizona listened quietly. Once Callie was finished, she asked, "Do you hate her as much as Mark does?"

Callie shrugged, leaning into the blonde. "A part of me does. A part of me wants to scream and cry and force her to tell me why she left me to pick up the pieces of my life that she shattered. But, even though I wish she didn't, she still has a small piece of my heart. I think everyone's first does. So no, I don't hate her nearly as much as Mark does. I should, but I don't."

"But you also haven't forgiven her," Arizona softly replied.

"Of course not. I don't think I can."

Arizona nodded, kissing her girlfriend's forehead. "Let's go to bed. I think you've told me enough for tonight."

"No more interrogation?" Callie asked with wide eyes.

Arizona chuckled. "No more interrogation."

"Good," Callie said, immediately latching herself onto her girlfriend's neck.

"Calliope," Arizona whined, attempting to crawl out of her girlfriend's lap. "When I said no action tonight, I meant it. It's late and I have early rounds. Let's go to bed."

"Fine," Callie grumbled, pouting.

"Hey," Arizona said, smirking as she pulled the Latina off the couch. "If you get up early enough, I might be willing to allow time for shower sex."

"Yes, please," Callie said, grinning.

Arizona laughed, pulling her girlfriend in for a kiss. It was sweet and affectionate, leaving both smiling. "I'm glad you opened up to me about Erica. Let's go to bed, Love."

Calliope willingly followed her lover into the bedroom for some much needed sleep.

**Again, sorry for the wait! I will try to get the next chapter out sooner! PLEASE REVIEW!**


	6. Chapter 6

**DISCLAIMER: I am NOT a doctor, nor do I know anything about medicine. Please don't criticize the lack of medical know-how. It is just a story.**

_BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!_

Arizona groaned as she flipped over to grab her pager. It was 4 A.M., and Arizona had only been asleep a couple of hours. Callie stirred slightly, looking up long enough to realize it wasn't her pager before going right back asleep. Looking at the pager, Arizona realized it was a code blue for Ty Mason. Throwing on a pair of jeans, she grabbed her coat and quickly left.

The hospital was just around the corner from her apartment, so it took very little time for her to get there. She blasted full speed through the hospital, her mind on getting to Ty in time. When she reached his room, Dr. Hahn was already there, using paddles to try to cease cardiac arrest. Arizona stood back, hand on the phone, ready to call up an OR at any moment.

While waiting for the paddles to recharge, Erica looked back quickly at Dr. Robbins, giving her a curt nod to signal the call. Arizona quickly called up an OR, updating the scrub nurses at hand on the situation, as well as calling Yang to the OR. She then flew to Ty's side while Dr. Hahn spoke to his parents.

"We need you to stay in the waiting room," Erica said to the parents, one eye still on Ty. "We will update you when we can."

"No!" Ty's mom, Rebecca, cried while trying to get past Erica to get to her child. "I can't just leave him!"

"Look," Erica coldly replied. "You want your son to live or not?"

"He's in good hands," Arizona added, not wanting Erica to upset the mother more. "He's going to be fine, but we need to take him now." The mother nodded, sobbing softly but stepping out of the way. The intern steered the bed out of the room while Arizona hopped on to give the boy CPR on the way to the operating room.

"You lied to them," Erica said once the parents were out of earshot. "This boy is most likely not going to be fine. It will be a miracle if he gets off the table and you know it."

"I don't just work with kids, Erica," Arizona replied, keeping up with the CPR. "I also work with kids' parents. And I know that his parents needed to hear the possibility of a miracle, or they never would've let him out of their sight. You call it lying; I call it giving Ty his only chance. And also, I believe that Ty has a great chance of getting through this. I called Yang to assist. I'm sure she will be a great help to getting this boy's heart—"

"No," Erica indignantly said. "I can not allow Yang in my OR."

"Oh, yes you can. You may not like her. Hell, I don't like her. But she knows what she's doing. So Yang will be in that OR and Yang will help save this boy's life. It's our best chance."

Erica grunted, but said nothing more on the subject. When they reached the OR, Erica said, "You need to change. I guess Yang can take your spot until you are properly prepared to scrub in." Arizona agreed and quickly left.

"Open up his heart, Yang," Erica called as she scrubbed in. "We need to get him opened up now." Yang nodded, making quick work of the task.

"It doesn't look good, Hahn," Christina said as Erica entered the OR. "Not only is this heart too small for the kid, but it's also really weak. He needs a new heart right now or he's not going to make it."

Erica nodded briefly, completely aware of the situation. She called to one of the scrub nurses, "Page Robbins and tell her that I need her on the phone with UNOS immediately! We don't have much—"

"Shit!" Yang cursed as coronary artery burst.

"Time," Erica finished, her face draining from color. Seeing the nurses still at a standstill, she yelled, "NOW!"

When she was paged, Arizona was already one step ahead. She knew the severity of Ty's situation, and was sure that Yang and Hahn had it covered while she got UNOS to give them a heart. With UNOS on hold, she walked into the scrub room to check on the patient. She cringed when she saw the look on Hahn's face. Putting a hand on the intercom, she told Erica, "I have UNOS on the line. They are doing what they can to find a heart. How is damage control?"

"Impossible," Hahn said. "His heart is too far gone. There is no way to repair the rip in his coronary artery without causing more damage."

"Is there no way to plug the artery for now?" Arizona asked, her face paling.

"I'm not sure. The rip is small, maybe the size of my pinky. The way to plug it would be to—"

"Just do whatever you have to!" Arizona called exasperatedly, leaving the scrub room and heading back into the hallway.

"Robbins!" Arizona turned at hearing her name to see Webber running toward her. He stopped short in front of her, slightly out of breath. "Robbins, just who I was looking for. I have great news. There is—"

"Look, Dr. Webber, I don't have time for idle chit chat. I have a kid in there that is dying, and UNOS is taking way too long, and his parents are expecting him to get through this alive and well, and that just isn't the case! So unless you are here to tell that you can magically spread pixie dust and fix this kid's heart, I don't have time!"

"Well I don't have pixie dust," Webber replied, "But a group just came into the ER from a car accident. One of the victims was DOA. Her heart matches your patients. They are retrieving it now. It should be ready in the next few minutes. Think he has that long?"

"Yes sir," Arizona said, her voice shaking.

"Good. Now go kick ass, Robbins," The previous chief said, smiling.

"Yes sir," Arizona mumbled, ready to burst into tears. Hanging up on UNOS, she rushed into the operating room, grabbing a mask along the way. Once in the door, she said to Hahn, "We've got him a heart! It should be here any minute, so—"

"Robbins, if you want that heart to be of any use, you will stop talking," Hahn said quietly, her back turned. Arizona raised a brow questioningly, now noticing how eerily quiet the entire OR was. Silently, Arizona walked around the OR to see what the deal was. She gasped, seeing Yang's finger plugged into Ty's heart.

"What the hell are you doing, Yang?" Arizona panicked.

"Shut up!" Erica snapped. "She is saving his life by keeping the artery closed, but it is very fragile. If she makes even the slightest move, the artery will rip further, causing Ty to go into cardiac arrest and flat line. Yang, don't move."

"Is there anything else we can do?" Arizona said, shaking at the frailty of the situation.

"Not until that heart comes," Erica said. Both stood in silence, Arizona watching the heart, Erica watching Christina. After what felt like hours but was actually only a few minutes, Arizona's pager went off, indicating that the heart was on its way in.

"Whoever is paging you better damn well have the heart," Erica grumbled.

"They do," Arizona replied as a team of doctors came in. Both doctors stood back as they transplant team carefully placed the dish holding the new heart onto the table, barely stopping to glance quizzically at Yang's current state before leaving the OR.

Erica smiled for the first time all morning. "Alright, folks," she said to hers and Arizona's OR staff, "time to work some magic."

**GREYS**

"A job well done, Dr. Robbins," Erica said, holding the elevator open for her new colleague. Arizona nodded silently, stone-faced.

"What's up with you?" Hahn questioned. "We just saved that kid's life!"

As soon as the doors closed, Arizona's face crumbled and tears began to flow freely. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to c-cry," Arizona wailed, unable to control herself. "B-but the kid almost d-died…and the h-heart almost didn't make it…and I y-yelled at a guy who used to be my b-boss…and Yang had her finger in an a-artery—" At this point Arizona was crying so hard she couldn't talk. Snot was flowing freely from her nose rather unattractively, and her eyes were almost swollen shut.

"Umm…" Erica said, shifting her weight while awkwardly patting Arizona's shoulder. "There, there? I mean, umm…it's, uh, going to be ok?" Arizona turned to the doctor, burying her face into the uncomfortable blonde's neck. Erica froze, unsure how to react. Hahn wasn't used to someone being this emotional anywhere near her. Generally, if someone was going to cry, they would stay as far from her as possible. But here she was, stuck in an elevator with someone crying herself blue in the face. While cuddled up to Erica's neck. Great.

Finally, Arizona calmed herself down and let go of her death grip on the still-frozen heart surgeon. "Uh, so did I mention I tend to have an urge to cuddle when I cry?" She asked, laughing nervously while wiping her face.

Erica shook her head without a word. As soon as the elevator door opened, Erica bolted out, managing to state over her shoulder, "I, um, hope you feel better," before shooting down the nearest hallway.

Arizona shook her head, her face splitting into a watery grin. Erica was one of a kind, that was for sure. And most certainly someone Arizona wanted to get to know much better…

**GREYS**

**So I'm definitely not giving up on this story, in case you are wondering. There is still much to be told between these three. Thanks to all the reviews! They make me want to keep writing this! So if you really like it, and want to read more, PLEASE review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**GREYS**

"Hey," Mark said, stopping next to Callie in front of the coffee cart. "Are you feeling better today?"

"Much," Callie replied, sipping her liquid caffeine. "Addison is a saint. We talked for hours before Arizona got home."

"And did you talk to Arizona about you-know-who?"

Callie rolled her eyes. "She isn't Voldemort, Mark. And yes, we finally did talk about what happened with me and Erica. I should have told her before. I just didn't think I would need to bring it up again. I never thought Hahn would step foot in this place again."

"I had hoped she wouldn't…" Mark muttered, taking a sip of Callie's coffee.

"Well she is here, Mark. And she is working with my girlfriend, so the least we can do is be civil. Speaking of my girlfriend, have you seen Arizona this morning? She was already gone when I woke up."

Mark shook his head. "I just got here. I haven't seen anyone except a couple of hot nurses and you." Callie snorted and snatched her coffee back. Just as she was about to make a remark about how Mark objectified women, her pager went off. Sloan's pager immediately followed. Both looked at each other, immediately knowing it would be a hectic day.

"Incoming…" Callie murmured as they both took off toward the ER. As they reached it, both came to a complete stop, shocked at what met them. Five completely unrecognizable bodies occupied the space. Nurses, residents, and interns all flocked around the patients. Callie hadn't seen anything this bad since the kids on their way to graduation that were hit by a semi.

Seeing Meredith Grey holding several charts, Callie called her over to find out what exactly had happened. "From what I was told, a total of fifteen teenagers jumped out of a plane without parachutes."

"_What?_" Callie exclaimed. "Do they have a death wish?"

Meredith shrugged. "It's not like we can exactly ask them. Look, I'm really busy. There are only five here which means we have ten more coming in. So if you don't mind…"

Callie stepped out of her way, making a beeline for the patient who seemed to be in the most critical condition. On her way, she was stopped by Dr. Bailey. "Look," Bailey said, putting a finger against Callie's chest. "I don't know what happened yesterday, and I don't want to know. This is not high school. We do not cause unnecessary drama. We save lives. So I don't want to hear any more about any relationships, previous or current, or any drama unless it is medical. Any grudges that are going to affect the way you work are not allowed here in the work place. Do you hear me?"

Callie nodded her head guiltily. No one liked getting yelled at by Bailey. Bailey took a deep breath. "Good. Now go save some lives."

Callie continued toward the patient she was originally aiming for, stopping beside of Sloan. Mark snorted. "You just got told."

"Sloan!" Mark heard Bailey's shrill voice. "Torres is perfectly capable of taking care of that patient. We need to talk."

Callie chuckled. "Looks like I'm not the only one who is getting told."

**GREYS**

By mid-afternoon, only twelve of the teenagers had been found and brought in. Four had already died, and the other eight were in critical condition awaiting surgery as soon as an OR opened up. The heads of each department cycled around to each OR, while several attendings remained stationed for damage control. Callie had never seen so much chaos on the surgical floor before. She hadn't seen Arizona at all, and had only caught glimpses of Mark as he came around to take care of the plastics area of each of her patients.

As one patient was rushed out of the OR, Torres watched another come in. She was too busy gawking at the kid notice which doctor came in after him. The kid was so beaten he wasn't even recognizable. Shepherd had placed several interns in charge of determining the identification of each one. This particular boy had large cuts all over his face, and was swollen beyond recognition, but that wasn't what Callie was staring at. A large branch pierced his abdomen, entering in the center of his chest and exiting through his ribs.

"Apparently the police and paramedics found the kid dangling from a tree," A voice said behind her. Callie jumped, turning to seeing Erica grimacing at the boy. "He's lucky he is even alive. The MRI showed that the branch just missed his heart."

"They had time to do an MRI in his condition? What if it had been fatal?" Callie asked, keeping her cool.

"All of these kids are in bad shape. He's not even the worst of it. It would have been more dangerous to attempt to get this thing out blind. If it had been fatal, then he would already be dead."

Callie didn't respond, but got started making quick work of the boy's face. "Did he get a head scan as well? His face is pretty bloodied up. He might be bleeding out."

"This branch is the worst of his problems. Once we get it out, we will worry about everything else. Just keep him from dying, Torres." Callie nodded, continuing with damage control.

The two stood side-by-side, silent except for the occasional bark at the nurses from Erica. Within an hour the branch had been removed and Erica was scrubbing out as Chief Shepherd scrubbed in to take care of the boy's head.

"Scrub out, Torres," Shepherd told her. "Take a break. You've been in here working diligently for hours. Just take a breather and come back in half an hour."

"Thank you," Callie replied, handing her instruments to a nearby nurse. When the Latina reached the scrub room, Erica was still scrubbing out. Erica nodded at her, but said nothing.

After fidgeting a little longer, Callie said, "I forgive you." The short words cut the thick tension like a knife.

Erica stared at her incredulously. "You what?"

"I forgive you," Callie said, leaning against the sink. "I don't want to. And I probably shouldn't. But I forgive you because of stupid Bailey and her stupid lectures about stupid drama. What happened between us happened a long time ago. Yes, you hurt me. You know you did. But I've moved on and found an amazing girl. If you are planning to stay a while, then there is no need for there to be tension between us. At least, not between you and me. Mark is another story."

Erica chuckled. "Mark is his own story. And I agree. I don't do drama, nor do I plan to have any in my life. If you are okay with have a professional relationship, and not avoiding me until I am no longer needed here, then that is perfectly fine with me."

Callie smiled. "That is certainly the plan. So, amicable colleagues?" She stuck out her hand.

Erica willingly grabbed and shook it. "Amicable colleagues."

**GREYS**

Arizona had been spending the entire day taking care of the general rounds and assigning interns enemas and paperwork, picking up the slack from the chaos happening in the ER. Even though she wasn't in the action, it was still a rather busy day. Just as the blonde reached mid-way down the stairwell, carrying a large stack of files to the nurses' station, a wolf-whistle was heard from up above.

Arizona turned to see her beautiful Latina standing at the top of the staircase, leaning against the railing with a steamy look in her eye. "Would it be completely unethical for me to eat you out right here, right now?"

Arizona laughed loudly, scurrying back up the stairwell to meet her lover. "Unethical? Maybe, but very tempting. How about you meet me in an on-call room, and I'll come find you once I've dropped these off."

Callie groaned, rolling her head back. "I don't have that much time. I have to be back in the OR in twenty minutes."

Arizona smirked, grabbing her girlfriend's long dark locks and pulling her into a searing kiss. Once they were both completely out of breath, she pulled away and bounced back down the stairs. "I think you can find the time. Just be undressed and ready when I get there."

Callie leaned over the railing, calling to the blonde as she reached the bottom landing, "I still like the idea of just eating you out right here!"

"Inappropriate!" Arizona called teasingly before wheeling out of the bottom door.

**GREYS**

Erica stood at the Nurses' Station, fidgeting while waiting for her "break" to end. Apparently Shepherd was enforcing that each doctor get a little time to themselves so they don't crash while taking care of the plane victims. Erica sighed. This was a waste of her time. She would much rather be saving a life than standing here, waiting an efficient amount of time before going back up and forcing her way back in.

She stood with her head leaned back, elbows against the counter. After a few minutes, she heard wheels screech to halt next to her, followed by a chirpy, "Good afternoon, Dr. Hahn!" Erica immediately stiffened, remembering back to the incident in the elevator. She didn't want to admit it, especially considering this was her ex's girlfriend, but as uncomfortable as she was trying to comfort the crying woman, it felt nice to be close to her like that. It had been a very long time since she had been in any sort of personal relationship. In fact, the last person she would officially call her girlfriend was Torres. And to be attracted to an obviously beautiful woman is normal, right? No. Not when it's Callie's girlfriend. Not when it's Dr. Robbins.

Without noticing Erica's reaction to her presence, Arizona continued. "Hey, I'm sorry about earlier in the elevator. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I was just under a lot of stress and you happened to be there. But I do appreciate you being there, by the way. And I would like to make it up to you. Come by Joe's tonight. Maybe I can buy you a drink to make up for it."

Arizona paused. Erica opened her eyes and looked over, but said nothing. Arizona smiled hesitantly. "Well, just think about it. Think of it as a friendly gesture for a friendly gesture."

As the bouncy blonde strolled away, Erica watched her back. First Callie's forgiveness and now a friendly gesture from Arizona? This day was not turning out as she had expected.

**GREYS**

"Mmm, it has been way too long…" Callie purred, cuddling up to Arizona in the afterglow.

Arizona nodded. "Way too long. But totally worth the wait." She turned over to look at Callie. "I love you."

Callie smiled, gently kissing her. "I love you too."

Arizona closed her eyes, rubbing her nose into Callie's neck. "Look," she said hesitantly, "I know you don't want to talk about it, but I really think you should give Erica a chance. I realize you two have your differences, but she seems really great. I want to get to know her, but I can't with a good conscience knowing that you have this super grudge against her."

Callie gently stroked her girlfriend's hair. "It's already taken care of. She and I had a talk earlier and came to the conclusion that if we are going to work together, then we both have to be civil."

Arizona's eyes lit up. "Really? You two talked?"

Callie nodded. "Yes. Not that you need my approval to be her friend. If anyone can break the ice that she is encased in, it's you."

The blonde grinned, eyes beaming. "I'm glad that you've gotten past all of this, Calliope. Maybe eventually you two can even be friends again!"

Callie snorted. "Yeah, sure."

Arizona slapped her on the shoulder. "I'm serious! You two were friends before everything happened, right?"

"Yes, but—"

"So if you can forgive her for what she did, then you can back to that! Starting tonight."

Callie jerked. "What do you mean tonight?"

Arizona smiled. "I invited her to Joe's tonight."

"You _what?_!"

**GREYS**

**Read and Review!**


	8. Chapter 8

**GREYS**

Callie paced the lobby floor at the end of the day, infuriated with her girlfriend. How could Arizona just invite Erica to join them at Joe's tonight? Even though she said she forgave the heart surgeon, on the inside she was still hurt about everything that happened. Sure, it was the past, but it was still a really difficult time for Callie. And now not only was Erica invading her work place, but her personal life too? If Arizona wanted to be her friend, then fine. But Callie was not going to get buddy-buddy with her ex! That is _not _what she meant by amicable colleagues.

Just as she was about to storm out of the hospital and head home, Callie remembered that tonight was the night of the darts tournament at Joe's bar. The Latina sighed, knowing she couldn't miss the tournament. She lived to kick Karev's ass at darts. So she would go, play darts, and completely ignore her girlfriend and her girlfriend's apparent new BFF.

**GREYS**

Erica paced in front of her car, unsure of where to go. Yes, she had been invited to go to Joe's by Arizona, but was it really the best idea to socialize with the bubbly blonde? If Arizona was there, then surely Callie wasn't far behind. And even though she and Callie did make a deal to be friendly enough, she sincerely doubted that the deal reached beyond the hospital. This was ridiculous. Erica would just get in her car and go home...

But she and Joe used to be really good friends. Before she left, Erica would come by Joe's almost every night she had off, just to talk and relax. Joe always had her back, and was always there to listen to her surgical cases as well as her personal problems. He was probably more upset than anyone else to find out that she had resigned. Maybe she would just pop in long enough to let him know that she was back in town. Maybe even take Arizona up on that drink. Not to socialize, just to get a freebie. Her mind set, Erica reversed her car and headed toward the Emerald City Bar.

**GREYS**

Arizona paced in front of Joe's bar, waiting for…well either Erica or Callie, really. She knew it was a long shot whether Calliope would show or not, considering how angry she was about Arizona inviting Erica along. Their relationship was so confusing to the blonde. Callie said that all was forgiven, but got so moody at the prospect of having to interact with Erica outside of the hospital. Arizona just wished she would leave what happened in the past and give Erica a chance…

Not that she was even sure whether Erica was coming either. When she asked about it, Erica gave her a blank stare as if it was the most outrageous offer on the planet. It was so difficult to read her sometimes. Maybe Erica was really serious when she said that she didn't have or want a social life. Maybe Arizona was overstepping by asking her to come here. Giving up on either woman showing up, Arizona walked into the bar and sat down on a stool in front of Joe.

"What can I do for you?" Joe asked kindly, winking at her.

"Just a beer for now," Arizona said, "but keep them coming."

Joe nodded, pouring her first drink. "Where is your plus-one?"

Arizona shook her head. "I have no idea. If she isn't on her way here, then she is on her way home."

"And missing the darts tournament? Callie wouldn't do that. That would mean forfeiting to Karev."

Arizona giggled. "You're probably right."

"I'm always right," Joe replied, nodding toward the door. In walked Callie, leather jacket pulled tightly around her. Arizona smiled brightly at her girlfriend, beckoning toward her. Callie looked at her wide-eyed, making her way toward the bar.

"Where is Hahn?" Callie asked tentatively after ordering a couple of shots.

"I don't think she is going to show," Arizona shrugged.

Callie shook her head. "No. She'll show. She generally doesn't do social outings but she makes an exception for coming here. Look, I don't care if you are friends with her or not, but I am going to make myself scarce before she arrives. I have a game of darts to win. Hey Karev! Ready to get your ass whipped?"

"Not a chance, Torres!" Karev replied from where he was sitting with Meredith and Christina across the bar. Callie laughed at the challenge. She kissed Arizona's cheek and headed toward the board.

Arizona quickly downed her beer, motioning for another. By the time Erica showed up, she was on her third and slightly tipsy.

"Erica!" Joe called, delighted to see her. "Long time, no see!"

Erica headed over to the bar, sitting down next to Arizona. "It's been way too long, Joe. How about starting me off with a vodka tonic."

"No cheap wine?" Joe laughed before turning to make her drink.

"Hey," Erica said softly to Arizona.

Arizona smiled, sipping her beer. "I wasn't sure if you would show."

"I'm not about to pass up a free drink," Erica smiled, warming up to the Ped's surgeon. Arizona's giggle turned into a hiccup as she swayed slightly on her chair. Erica grabbed her shoulders, holding her steady. "Are you okay? I think you've had a little too much to drink."

"I'm fine," Arizona said, though the hiccup that followed said otherwise.

"Maybe I should get Callie…"Erica gently replied, smiling politely in thanks to Joe.

"No!" Arizona cried vehemently. "She is busy with her game. I did not invite you here to take care of me. I invited you here to socialize and talk. Joe, I will have what she's having."

Erica discretely shook her head at Joe, knowing better than to give Arizona more to drink. Joe nodded, passing a water Arizona's way.

"Okay then," Erica responded. "Tell me a little about yourself. This is the first time we've really talked outside of the hospital."

"It's hard to ever find time to talk outside of the hospital. I guess that's part of being a surgeon."

"It certainly is," Erica agreed. "So, what have you—"

"Hold on," Arizona interrupted, putting her head in her hands. "Just give me a second for the room to stop spinning."

Erica put a hand on her back, knowing it was time to get Callie. Motioning for Joe to watch the intoxicated blonde, Erica quickly made her way across the room. Once she reached Callie, she gently placed a hand on her shoulder. Callie immediately tensed when she turned to see Erica standing behind. "I think you need to help your girlfriend," Erica said quietly, trying not to catch anyone else's attention. "She is rather drunk."

Callie looked over to see Arizona with her head against the counter. "She's a light-weight," Callie murmured. She headed over to her girl, Erica following quickly behind. As she reached Arizona, she gently helped her up. Erica put Arizona's other arm around her shoulders, helping Callie pull her out of the bar. She nodded to Joe, letting him know that the tab would be taken care of later.

Once they reached the parking lot and had put Arizona in Callie's car, Callie turned to face Erica. "I appreciate you helping me to get her out of the bar, but I can take it from here."

"Are you sure? I don't mind following you back. Do you think you could get her up to your apartment on your own?"

Callie sighed, looking back at her almost unconscious girlfriend. "I guess it would be good to get a little assistance. God, she should've known better than to drink that much."

"She tried to order another when I got there, but I stopped her. She was already pretty tipsy when I found her."

"Well, thanks for that. Let's just head back." Callie turned her back to walk toward her car when Erica grabbed her shoulder.

"Do you really hate me so much that you can't just stand here and have a conversation? I thought we agreed on being friendly."

Callie whipped around. "I'm trying to be friendly, Erica. I'm really trying. But you left me! You left me and you broke my heart. And as soon as I get over it, as soon as I'm happy again, you show up here and screw everything up! So I'm sorry if I'm having trouble forgiving you, but I just can't get attached again. I can't help hating you for letting me go. Now if you don't mind, I need to get my girlfriend back to apartment before she pukes in my car."

Erica stepped out of the way, watching Callie as she walked to the driver's seat. "Just follow me. In case you don't remember, I don't live far from here."

"You still want me to come?"

"Yeah," Callie replied, getting in the car. "This is me being friendly."

**GREYS **

Once they reached the apartment, Callie took a semi-conscious Arizona into the bedroom while Erica sat down on the couch. She still remembered moving Callie in here with Christina. When Callie walked back out of the bedroom, she asked, "Does Yang still live here?"

"Sort of," Callie replied, sitting down on the other side of the couch. "She still pays her part of the rent, but she spends a lot of time at Owen's. She and Owen have been—"

"I'm sorry," Erica blurted out, standing up and moving to the other side of the coffee table.

"What?" Callie asked, caught off-guard by the sudden change of subject.

"I didn't know how much I hurt you when I left. I left because I thought it was the right thing to do. After everything that happened with you and Mark, I just assumed that he was who you wanted. I thought that by leaving it would give you an easy way out."

Callie shook her head. "Erica, when I told you I slept with Mark, I also told you that I wanted to be with you and that it was a mistake. Do you remember that, or did you just block it out of your memory to make hanging me dry a little easier? I didn't want to go back to men. I didn't want anyone but you."

Erica hung her head, dropping back onto the couch. "I'm sorry, Callie. I was completely selfish. I didn't even listen to your side before disappearing. I assumed that it was what you wanted."

"Well you were wrong, Erica," Callie replied. "But I'm glad that we've gotten the chance to talk about it. If you're willing to see your mistake in leaving me, then I can't really hold a grudge. Plus, it seems that my girlfriend wants to be your best friend."

Erica chuckled. "Arizona is great. You're very lucky to have her. And she does seem to be working pretty hard to get to know me. I thought it was just because I was your ex."

"No," Callie answered. "Arizona doesn't function that way. She isn't the least bit vengeful. She really just wants to be your friend."

"Just like you did," Erica smiled, before standing up and heading toward the kitchen. "So, do you still keep wine around here?"

"Always," Callie replied. "It's in the fridge. Feel free to grab some." While Erica grabbed the wine, Callie turned on the television, flipping channels until settling on Will and Grace. When Erica came back, she handed Callie a glass and settled in on the couch.

Before long, both were laughing together, all grudges forgotten. After watching a couple of hours of TV, Callie looked over to see that Erica had fallen asleep. Unintentionally snuggling against her, she soon followed suit.

**GREYS**

**Read and Review!**


	9. Chapter 9

**If you guys like this story, please review. When I don't get very many reviews it makes me wonder if anyone reads it at all. So R&R!**

**GREYS**

When Arizona woke up the next morning, she was immediately hit with a splitting headache. The hangover she had was so heavy she could barely move. It was ridiculous how little it took to get her drunk.

"Calliope," she whined, whipping out a hand to where her girlfriend normally slept. But that side of the bed was empty. Arizona opened one eye in confusion. Did Callie really leave for the hospital without waking her up or saying goodbye? After waiting a few minutes for the headache to subside, she finally managed to get out of bed and stumble toward the kitchen for some aspirin. On her way out of the bedroom door, she looked over toward the living room to see a lump sound asleep on the couch.

Did Callie really sleep on the couch last night? It made no sense. She never slept on the couch. Just as Arizona began to walk over to investigate, a pager shrilled through the room. Arizona cringed at the sound against her headache.

"Is that me?" Callie groaned, sitting up a reaching for her pager. Arizona noticed that she was still wearing the same clothes from last night.

"No, I think it's me. I'm on-call and—what the hell?" Arizona watched in shock as Erica's head popped out from under the blanket. Callie immediately jumped off of the blonde, still completely unaware that Arizona was standing there.

"What are you doing here? I thought you left!" Callie exclaimed, pushing her hair out of her face as she put her pager back down on the coffee table.

"I must've fallen asleep…with you on top of me?" Erica's voice read all of the confusion that Arizona was feeling.

"What the hell is going on here?" Arizona finally spoke up, making her presence known. From the exchange, she could tell it was a misunderstanding, but how did Callie just happen to end up on top of her ex-girlfriend?

"Zona!" Callie cried, immediately moving away from the couch where Erica was still sitting.

"Look, I have a massive hangover right now, so please don't yell. But I don't particularly like waking up to find my girlfriend sleeping all snuggled up to another woman. So if you care to explain…"

"I can explain," Erica said, noticing how frazzled Callie was at the situation. "Last night, you were pretty intoxicated. I came back with you and Callie to make sure you were okay. Callie and I had a lot of stuff to talk out, so I stuck around for a while after you went to bed so that we could talk. I guess it got pretty late and I fell asleep. Now, I'm not entirely sure how Callie ended up on top of me, but I swear to you that it was completely platonic."

"Completely," Callie agreed, wrapping her arms around Arizona's waist and pecking her cheek. She took it as a good sign that she didn't shy away from the affection.

Arizona huffed slightly, looking back and forth between the two women. "So you two _just_ talked? And nothing else?"

Erica shook her head fervently. "Absolutely nothing."

"But everything is good between us now," Callie added. "Just the way you wanted."

Arizona smiled slightly. "So we can be friends? Like all of us?"

"Of course," Callie replied, kissing her full on the lips. Arizona closed her eyes as they parted, her headache setting in again.

"Alright, I believe you. But only because I'm a forgiving person. Now, I'm going to take a very cold shower to rid this awful hangover, and I expect the best damn coffee I've ever had when I get out." Receiving another quick kiss from Callie, she scurried back into the bedroom toward the bathroom she and Callie shared.

Once she was gone, Callie stared wide-eyed at Erica, still piecing together what had happened the night before. "We were telling the truth, right? Nothing happened?"

"No," Erica assured her. "Neither of us was that drunk. We both just fell asleep."

"Good," Callie said with a sigh of relief. "I think I've had my drama quota for the year."

Erica snorted. "You mean for the week. Drama is like a disease around here. If one person has it, everyone catches it. And once you've caught it, it's impossible to get rid of. Believe me; I learned that the hard way."

Callie laughed, knowing the statement was completely true. "I should probably make breakfast. It might help with Arizona's hangover to get food in her stomach. What do you want?"

"I don't eat breakfast," Erica replied, sliding onto one of the stools across the counter from the Latina.

"Today you do. I'm thinking Arizona's favorite, chocolate chip pancakes."

"She would like chocolate in the mornings," Erica chuckled. "Alright, fine. I guess I can handle a couple of pancakes."

"Good," Callie replied, "Because it wasn't an option."

**GREYS**

"No," Mark said, scowling across the table at Callie. "I won't do it."

Callie rolled her eyes. "Stop being such a child. If I'm over it, then you should be over it. So get over it."

"She hurt you, Callie! How can you be so nonchalant about that?"

"I'm not being nonchalant! We talked for a while about everything. Any resentment that I felt was thrown at her."

"And now all is magically forgiven? I don't think so, Torres." Mark angrily pushed back his chair, muttering, "We're done here," before stomping out of the cafeteria.

"Mark!" Callie called after him. Just as he left, Christina wandered up toward her deserted table.

"So, we need to talk," Christina said, pulling out a seat. Callie nodded, already knowing where this was going. Christina had been spending plenty of time over at Owen's lately. She knew it wouldn't be long before Christina moved in with him.

"I'm moving in with Owen. I'll pay rent to the end of the month, but after that the apartment is yours."

"You can't do that, Christina. You know I can't take care of the rent alone, not since I was cut off. That's why we share the apartment."

Christina shrugged. "Not my problem. Ask Blondie to help pay. She spends enough time over there."

"She has her own apartment. I can't ask her to help pay for mine on top of it."

"Dude," Christina said, staring widely at Callie. "What don't you get? I'm moving out. I'm moving in with Owen. I won't be there anymore. Ask Blondie to move in."

Callie sighed. "We've talked about it before. But there is an extra bedroom that wouldn't be needed."

"Again, not my problem," Christina deadpanned, standing up from the table. "So, until the end of month."

As she walked away, Callie watched her back. Of course now would be the perfect time to move in with Arizona, but what about the extra unused bedroom? Would they just leave that one empty? Callie shook her head. She would talk to Arizona about it. It would all work out in the end.

**GREYS**

Mark stormed through the breezeway, making his way toward Derek's office. Just as he was about to reach it, a female voice yelled his name. Assuming it was Callie, he whipped around, yelling, "Just leave me alone, Cal."

"Is Callie really the only girl that will talk to you anymore? Have you just slept with and screwed over the rest?" Lexie stood at the opposite end of the breezeway, walking toward him.

Mark rolled his eyes. "Look, I really don't have the time to deal with your sarcasm right now. So if you don't mind—"

"Wait, Mark!" Lexie called. She had been tracking him down all day, and wasn't about to let him walk away now. "I've been looking for you for a reason. I broke up with Alex."

"Good for you," Mark said, face blank. "If that's all you wanted, then I've got places to be."

"Will you just listen to me?" Lexie yelled, stomping her foot. "I swear, all you've done these past few months is piss and moan. You bitch about everything and pick fights with everyone. Almost all of the drama in this hospital somehow concerns you, because you have an opinion about everything! Your behavior is destructive, Mark. It really is."

"What is your point, Lexie?" Mark spat, his temper bubbling over.

"The point is that I'm still in love with you! And you're too wrapped up in yourself to even notice. I left Alex for you. I've been spending my entire day trying to get you alone so we can talk, only to have you brush me off. So forget it. You've changed, Mark. I'm done pining after you."

She spun on her heel and marched toward the elevator. Just as the doors were about to close, Mark slipped in behind her. Lexie rolled her eyes. "Don't you have places to be?"

Mark nodded, pulling her close. "I do, but I think this is more important." Grabbing her waist, Mark pulled Lexie into a searing kiss. "I'm sorry Lex," he said once they pulled apart. "I've been a total ass. But I just hated seeing you with that slimy flake."

"I know," Lexie replied, taking a step back. "But that doesn't excuse how you've been acting toward everyone else. I love you, but you need to get your anger in check."

"Okay," Mark immediately replied, wrapping his arms back around her.

"Starting with Erica," Lexie finished, leaning into him.

Mark groaned, dropping his head to the brunette's shoulder. "You sound like Callie."

"Maybe because Callie is right," Lexie said, her fingers weaving into his hair.

"Fine," Mark huffed. "So are we okay?"

Lexie smiled, pulling Mark toward her. "I think we're more than okay."

**GREYS**

Callie had been searching for Arizona on and off throughout the day. By the afternoon, she finally caught up with the bouncy blonde in the Pediatrics Wing. Sneaking up behind her, Callie poked her gently in her sides, causing her to squeal.

Whipping around, Arizona popped Callie on the shoulder, playfully pouting. "That is no way to get my attention, Calliope."

Callie smirked. "I think it worked pretty well. So I've been looking for you. You think you can take a couple of minutes off?"

Arizona narrowed her eyes. "For what, exactly?"

Callie smiled, grabbing her hand. "Not for _that_. I just need to talk to you." She pulled Arizona into an empty patient's room, placing her on the bed and sitting next to her. "I talked to Christina earlier. She's moving out."

"Of course she is," Arizona replied. "She's hardly spent any time in the apartment lately as it is. It's no surprise she's finally moving in with Owen."

"I know," Callie said, snuggling up to her girlfriend. "So I was thinking, since Christina is leaving, and you spend all of your time at my apartment as it is, maybe you could move in with me?"

Arizona turned to look at her. "Well, it took you long enough."

Callie furrowed her brow. "What do you mean?"

"Calliope, we've been dating for over a year. I've been waiting you to ask me for the past four months."

"And Christina knew that, didn't she?" Callie said, putting the pieces together.

Arizona chuckled. "Yes she did, Calliope. Way to use your head."

Callie smiled, burrowing her face in Arizona's neck. "Well I'm asking you now. Will you move in with me?"

Arizona smiled, lifting Callie's head to look at her. "Absolutely." She then sealed her answer with a kiss.

Callie pulled away reluctantly, knowing better than to let things go further considering their location. "But there is an extra room now, since we're sharing one."

Arizona shrugged. "Then it will be empty. If someone that we could stand to live with happens to need an apartment, then its there. But there is more we still need to talk about."

Callie cocked her head. "Hmm?"

"This morning was pretty weird. I know that you say that nothing happened, and I want to believe you, but it isn't every day that you wake up to find your girlfriend on top of another woman, especially her ex."

"I know," Callie replied, sighing. "I really am sorry. I don't actually know how that happened. We were just drinking and talking, figuring things out like you've wanted us to do, and I guess we both just fell asleep. Nothing happened at all. I promise, Arizona. I would never do anything like that to hurt you."

"I know you wouldn't," Arizona assured her. "It was just such an odd situation. I'm glad you and Erica have worked things out though."

"We're working on it," Callie said. "It's tough to let it go. I don't think things will ever just go back to the way they were."

"You never know, Calliope," Arizona replied. "I think you'll surprise yourself."

"And I think you're full of it. But we'll see. Now I have surgery in fifteen minutes, so I've really got to go. I guess I'll see you back at _our_ apartment tonight."

Arizona smiled, pulling her in for one more kiss. "I think you owe me a welcoming party tonight."

Callie smirked, walking toward the door. "I think that can be arranged."

**GREYS**

**Read and Review!**


	10. Chapter 10

It had been two months now since Erica had gotten into town. Thanksgiving was just around the corner. Callie and Arizona were happily living together. Mark and Lexie were still figuring things out, but officially back together. All of the drama surrounding Erica's arrival was slowly simmering down. The only person who wasn't completely over it was Mark.

Callie stood at the coffee stand, waiting for Mark like she did every morning. Arizona had gone in for rounds early, with a day full of surgeries ahead, so Callie knew she wouldn't be seeing her until later that night. While Callie was waiting, she saw Erica exiting the elevator, looking rather distraught.

"Shit…shit…shit…" Erica muttered, staring at her cell phone. "Come on…"

"Hey," Callie called, waving her over. "What's up with you?"

"There was a flood in the apartment I've been staying in," Erica replied distractedly. "They are trying to get it fixed, and are reimbursing me for all of my belongings that were damaged, but I have to find a hotel to stay in until the flood is fixed. But there is one problem. It is Thanksgiving break. Every hotel worth staying in is filled up with people who are forced to spend Thanksgiving with their families, but can't stand to spend more than one day with them. So I'm stuck calling hotel after hotel trying to find anywhere decent to stay while the idiots gut out my apartment! Oh, and I have a surgery scheduled in half an hour. So I've really got to go."

Before Callie could get a word in edgewise, she was already heading down a hallway while calling the next hotel. Mark showed up not long after, ordering his usual.

"Hey, Callie," Mark said, taking a sip of his coffee. "Where is your plus-one?"

"Rounds, I think…" Callie answered absent-mindedly.

"Oh," Mark said, oblivious to the fact that Callie was hardly listening. "By the way, there is a big dinner for Thanksgiving happening at Meredith's again this year. All of the usual are coming. You and Arizona are invited, of course. And I guess they are inviting Erica if she isn't working…I'm trying to be civil, you know. We haven't had any serious disagreements other than occasionally spitting at each other in three days. You know that has to be a record."

"Hmm?" Callie responded, finally acknowledging that he was there.

"Are you even awake, Cal? Here, drink coffee. I forget that you need at least one cup before you can be even slightly sociable."

Callie shook her head. "No, this is my third cup. I was just a little distracted, I guess. Erica just came through here, and—"

"Of course she did," Mark rolled his eyes. "Do you realize that lately every conversation we've had lately has had something to do with Erica? I swear you talk about her as much if not more than you do about Arizona."

"That's not true!" Callie immediately defended. "Arizona and Erica are good friends, so Erica is around us a lot. And because of that, we've gotten pretty close again. But that doesn't mean we can't have a normal conversation without her being a part of it."

"Oh, really?" Mark asked. "Good. So, are you and Arizona coming?"

"Coming to what?"

Mark groaned. "Thanksgiving, Callie. Get with the program."

"What's happening on Thanksgiving?" Callie asked. "Wait, speaking of Thanksgiving, that reminds me of what I going to tell you about Erica. You see—"

"No!" Mark growled, skulking away from her. "If we can't have a normal conversation, then I'm gone."

"Mark, wait!" Callie whined. "This is important."

"I'm here to talk to you about sex, relationships, and general hospital gossip. And sex. NOT about Erica Hahn," he said. Just as Callie was about to respond, his pager went off. "Now, I have a patient who actually needs me. And probably not to talk about her ex." He then turned around and left her in his wake.

"This could count as gossip!" Callie called after him. "I do not talk about Erica that much…" she muttered to herself. She rolled her eyes. "God, now I'm even talking to myself about her." She shook her head, trying to rid her brain of the blonde cardiac surgeon, and headed toward her first patient of the day.

**GREYS**

Arizona yawned, finally able to take a break between surgeries. Her day hadn't stopped once since it began. For the first time, she had a second to stop while waiting for Erica to show up to finally discharge Ty Mason. Not long after his surgery, a slight hiccup from the surgery showed up. Because of how drastic the surgery was, it caused some strain on the heart, making one of the valves rip slightly. It was a minor repair and easily taken care of, but to be safe Hahn and Robbins chose to keep him in the hospital and monitor him a while longer.

With her head leaning back against the central station in the Pediatric wing, Arizona began to doze off. The sound of curse words echoing down the hall jolted her awake. She scowled at Erica as she walked up, screaming profanities into her phone.

"Erica!" Arizona hissed. "We do not say those words here. Pediatrics is full of butterfly wings and fairy dust, not poison and dirtiness. Watch your language!"

"Sorry," Erica sighed, shoving her phone in her pocket. "It has just been one of those days."

"I totally understand that," Arizona replied. "But I am a lot less forgiving when you don't bear gifts. Like coffee. Or caffeine in an IV bag."

Erica laughed as they walked toward Ty's room. "Don't we all need that?"

It was only a matter of minutes before Ty was shipped out. "Just in time for the holidays," his mom gushed, hugging Arizona and attempting to hug Erica.

"Ugh," Erica groaned. "That reminds me. I've got a ton of phone calls to make."

"What's up?" Arizona asked, strolling beside her.

"It's a long story," Erica replied, plugging in a hotel number for the umpteenth time. "But the short version is, I don't have a place to stay until most likely next year. My apartment was flooded."

Arizona scrunched her nose. "Oh goodness, every hotel must be packed."

"You have no idea," Erica said, leaving the Ped's wing with Arizona trailing along behind her. "Look, you know I would love to chat, but I've really got to find somewhere to stay tonight. Catch you later?"

Arizona nodded, already knowing where Erica would be staying. She just had to convince Callie.

**GREYS**

"I thought you called me in here for sex," Callie whined, flopping on the bed next to Arizona. "I don't want to talk."

"Well, that's too bad," Arizona replied indifferently. "But this isn't about you. It's about—"

"Erica?" Callie replied, already knowing where this was going. "Yes, I know her predicament. And knowing you, I know exactly what you are thinking. But hell will ice over before Erica Hahn lives in my apartment."

"Oh, that's funny," Arizona sniped, scowling. "I thought it was _our_ apartment. Remember? You asked me to move in. And when I moved in, I assumed that meant I had a say in what does and doesn't happen there. Erica needs a place to stay. She is homeless. We have a spare bedroom that is currently gathering dust. Would really rather have her living out on the street?"

Callie snorted. "I highly doubt that Erica Hahn would _ever_ resort to living on the street. We are not a charity, Arizona. We do not take in strays. If she can't find anywhere else, then she can live in the basement of the hospital."

"Calliope!"

"What?" Callie cried. "I lived there through my entire internship and part of my residency. Once you fix it up, it's really not that bad."

"She is not some stray, Calliope," Arizona growled, her voice getting dangerously low. "She is our friend. I don't know what your problem is. If it is your past, then get over it. I will not hang any friend of mine out to dry. I thought you would feel the same. And I am extremely disappointed to be proven wrong."

Before Callie could form a rebuttal, Arizona stormed from the room, slamming the door behind her. As she reached the lobby, she saw Erica standing over by the nurses' station, terrorizing interns. Strolling in that direction, she stopped beside of her. "Stop bothering the interns. They belong to Yang; therefore they can not help but be incompetent."

"And she complained to me because I wouldn't teach her…"Erica muttered, shaking her head.

"So I have found a solution to your situation," Arizona said, changing the subject.

"Oh, you magically found rooms open at a decent hotel? Did your fairy friends make it with their pixie dust?"

"Yes, and it's in Never Land. So just think a happy, non-surgical thought and Tinker bell will help you fly to the second star to the right."

Erica chuckled. "You're crazy. You know there is no such thing as a happy, non-surgical thought. But in reality, do you have an actual way to help me out?"

"Yes," Arizona replied, still giggling at their banter. "You can come live with me."

"Oh, no," Erica said. "You mean come live with you and Callie. I'm not stupid. I know Callie would never in an eternity agree to that. This means you are going behind her back, which I'm sure you know is not very smart. You don't play with the fire that is Callie Torres without getting burned."

"Calliope will come around," Arizona answered. "No worries. Just trust me. Or do you have a better plan as to where you are staying tonight?"

"Hmm…any happy little non-surgical thought?"

Arizona popped her arm. "Erica! I'm serious! I am not leaving you out in the cold when we have a completely furnished, utterly unused bedroom that you could easily stay in."

Erica closed her eyes, breathing deeply. "Just until I am able to find a hotel?"

"Just until you are able to find a hotel," Arizona agreed, grinning. "And don't worry about Calliope. She might be a little angry, but she'll get over it. She is your friend too."

"No. You and I are friends. Callie and I are acquaintances through affiliation."

"Whatever," Arizona rolled her eyes. "My point is that she does have a heart. I could never fall in love with someone who didn't. Just give her some time to warm up to the idea of you being around. It shouldn't take too long."

"You'd be surprised…" Erica responded, but knew better than to dissuade the blonde. It wasn't like she had any other choice. "Alright. I have a surgery coming up in half an hour. It should take about three hours. After that I will get together the belongings that I salvaged from the flood and meet you to head over to the apartment. Does that work for you?"

"Sounds perfect," Arizona beamed. "See you in a few hours."

**GREYS**

When Callie made it to the apartment, it had gotten pretty late. She had been distracted most of the day by the argument that had happened between her and Arizona. This was the first real fight that she could remember having with Arizona since the huge fight over kids that briefly broke them up. Callie froze. The worst possible thing that could ever happen would be for Erica to cause them to break up. Too horrible to even be considered ironic. Callie shook her head, ridding the possibility and resolving to discuss this with Arizona. Just as she opened the door, laughter rang throughout the room. Callie knew that laugh, and knew it wasn't just Arizona.

"She didn't…" she muttered, opening the door. Her eyes widened in shock. Sitting on the couch next Arizona was Erica. Peter Pan was blaring from the television. Callie watched as Arizona threw a popcorn kernel in Erica's direction, giggling. She cleared her throat. Both turned to see her, Arizona hastily stopping the movie.

"Arizona, can I speak to you in our room? Now?"

Erica stood up, moving in front of the other blonde. "Look, Callie, I think there was a misunderstanding. I can leave if this isn't going to work."

"No, there wasn't a misunderstanding," Callie replied, stone faced. Turning to Arizona, she snapped, "Now, Arizona." Arizona immediately ran to the bedroom, shutting the door behind her.

"Look, Erica," Callie growled. "As I'm sure you know, the fact that you are here was not my choice. Arizona went behind my back. That is why I am beyond pissed. I came here expecting to talk everything out with Arizona, and most likely have _both of us_ invite you to stay. She betrayed my trust. However, this has nothing to do with you. So if you don't mind, turn the TV up loudly, and try to ignore what is happening in other room. Feel free to get a glass of wine or something."

Erica nodded. As Callie turned around, she grabbed her shoulder. "Don't be too hard on her. She thinks with her heart, not her head. Not many people are like that. She is pretty special."

Callie bristled. "I know that," she replied sharply. "I don't need you to tell me that. But that doesn't excuse what happened today." Erica dropped her shoulder, allowing her to move into the bedroom.

Arizona sat on the bed, waiting for Callie to come in. After several agonizing minutes, the Latina finally entered the room. "Calliope—"

"Don't Calliope me!" Callie yelled, glaring at her lover. "How could you do that? How could you go behind my back and invite her here without my consent? Did you not even think about my feelings in this decision?"

"I'm sorry, Callie," Arizona said, her voice quivering. Callie never yelled like that. "I just thought…I don't know. I just didn't want to leave Erica without a place to go."

"This isn't about the situation with Erica anymore, Arizona! This is about you betraying my trust by going behind my back. You didn't even call and warn me. You just went on impulse and completely forgot about how I felt and my reasons for not wanting her here."

"I didn't forget," Arizona replied. "But you guys have been getting along so well. I thought once you saw her here you would come around."

"You should've talked to me about it. Erica would've been okay staying in an on-call room tonight until we worked everything out. I came home tonight planning to agree to let her stay—"

"Really?" Arizona interrupted, her eyes widening.

"Yes, Arizona. Like I said, this is no longer about her. This is about the fact that I'm going to have to wonder whether my opinion on anything matters to you anymore. Are you actually going to listen to me, or are you just going to do as you please without consulting me? That is not a relationship."

"I am sorry, Callie," Arizona quietly answered, tears flowing. "I wasn't thinking when I invited her. This is your apartment too, and I didn't listen to you at all. Please don't be mad at me. It won't happen again."

"It better not," Callie said, her anger simmering down. "But you're still on the couch tonight, in case you hadn't already guessed."

Arizona nodded, silently getting up off the bed. She gently brushed Callie's shoulder as she walked past, whispering, "I love you."

"I love you too, Arizona," Callie replied. "I just don't love you going behind my back. I'll see you in the morning."

Arizona nodded and left the room. Callie closed the door behind her. Erica entered the living room from the kitchen, walking toward the upset blonde and handing her a glass of wine. Arizona sniffled, accepting the glass of wine and moving toward the couch. "She kicked me out of bed. She's never kicked me out of bed before."

Erica shrugged. "It happens. I'm sure this won't be the last time."

"She's never been that angry at me before."

Erica remained quiet. She wasn't very good at comforting, and had no idea what to say. Picking up the remote, she finally said, "Let's finish watching Peter Pan. It's ridiculously childish and unrealistic, but it may get your mind off Callie."

Arizona nodded. The movie began playing again, and a comfortable silence fell between them. After a few minutes, Arizona moved toward Erica and whispered, "Hey, Erica?"

"Yeah?" Erica replied, all too aware of how little space there was between them.

Arizona laid her head on the other's shoulder. "I'm glad you're here. I don't what I would've done if you weren't."

"You probably wouldn't have had this fight," Erica chuckled, but knew what she meant. After a few minutes, Erica relaxed and wrapped her arms around her friend. It wasn't long before Arizona was asleep. Erica quietly turned off the movie, and slowly slipped out of Arizona's grip. Walking toward the bedroom, she shook her head. Could she really be developing feelings for Arizona Robbins? No, this couldn't happen. She could not allow herself to feel anything for the beautiful blonde that had fallen asleep in her arms. These feelings had to stop, right now.

**GREYS**

**Read and Review!**


	11. Chapter 11

**GREYS**

**Sorry for the wait!**

The next morning, Erica wanted to leave early for the hospital. She really needed to clear her head, and the best way for her to do that was surgery. As she left the bedroom, dressed and ready to go, she glanced over at Arizona's sleeping figure. Her stomach knotted as the feelings that she was trying to quench soared upward. Arizona just looked so peaceful, completely unaware of the world around her. She was beautiful. Erica shook her head. She had to leave. She had to get away from here and clear her head.

Just as she was leaving, she heard a door open behind her. Turning around, she saw Callie making her way out of her bedroom. When she saw Erica at the door, she froze.

"Where are you going?" Erica whispered harshly, looking back at Arizona's sleeping form. "She is going to wake up and not find you here, and she is going to be upset. You told her you would see her in the morning. You can't just leave her here."

Callie shook her head. "I love Arizona. And I thought last night that when I woke up this morning, I would be over it and things could go back to normal. But I'm not over it. I'm still angry with her. I need to clear my head and get past this so I can remember why I love her so much."

"You love her because she is amazing," Erica muttered, shaking her head. "You love her because she is beautiful, and honest, and sometimes a little impulsive. But even when she is impulsive and she shows you the side that you hate, you still love her because she loves you. She loves you in a way that a person only loves one other. She loves you—"

"In the way that I used to love you," Callie whispered under her breath, pushing past the blonde and walking out of the door of the apartment.

"Excuse me?" Erica asked, following her out and shutting the door behind her.

"You're wrong about that last statement," Callie said, whipping around. "There is no such thing as only loving one other. I was in love with you in that same way and I moved on to love another."

Erica shook her head. "Bullshit. You cheated on me through our entire relationship. If you loved me the way you love Arizona, you never would've thought about another person in the same way you thought about me."

"I didn't think of him the same way!" Callie argued, her voice rising. "I was figuring myself out. I was confused. Mark helped me to see what I wanted, and what I wanted was you. And as soon as I realized that, as soon as I said I wanted to be with only you, you flaked out and you left me. I did love you Erica, and now I love Arizona. So yes, you can love more than one person."

"Then why aren't you staying here to wait for the one you love?"

"Because I need to clear my head and let things go before I can completely forgive and forget."

"We're still talking about last night, aren't we?" Erica inquired.

"Not completely," Callie replied, looking Erica directly in the eyes before turning around and disappearing down the stairs. Erica stood by the door, silently watching after her. She sighed, heading back into the apartment. Arizona stood in the kitchen, her hand gripping the counter.

"Did she leave?" Arizona asked, her voice quivering.

"She just needed to clear her head," Erica replied. "She's going to the hospital for early rounds."

"She said that I would see her in the morning," Arizona said, shaking her head. "She said that she would be here. And instead she just left without even waking me up."

"This isn't completely about you, or last night," Erica answered, walking over toward her friend. "There is much more to this than just an argument between you and Callie."

"What do you mean?" Arizona inquired, moving toward the other blonde.

"I don't know," Erica said, very aware of how close she and Arizona suddenly were. While Arizona didn't seem to notice, Erica had to move to get away from the heat. "I just know that she does love you, Arizona. She just needed some time to herself."

"Let's go to the hospital," Arizona muttered. "I've got rounds."

Erica nodded, watching the blonde move toward hers and Callie's bedroom to get ready. She sat on the counter and waited, thinking back over the scene from this morning. She shook her head in shock, suddenly realizing the undertones of their conversation. Did Callie still have feelings for her?

Before she could think any further, Arizona emerged with a scowl permanently fixed on her face. "Let's stop be Starbucks on the way in," she said. "I don't want any of that coffee cart crap on a morning like this." Erica nodded, knowing exactly what she meant.

**GREYS**

Mark was happy. Lexie made him happy. Surgeries made him happy. Sex with Lexie after surgery made him especially happy. When he walked down the stairs toward the coffee cart, he couldn't help but smile at how wonderfully life was turning out. Not even Erica Hahn could get him down—

"Mark!"

Mark looked around to see Callie hissing his name and beckoning him toward the elevator. Mark groaned, but headed toward her. "I just came from upstairs, Torres. I'm not getting on the elevator. What do you want?"

Callie rolled her eyes. "Come on," she said, pulling his wrist. "As the best friend, it is your job to willingly go where I need you when I need you. And I need you now."

"I thought we were past this," Mark said, reluctantly stepping onto the elevator. "You like sex with girls. I'm in a committed relationship—"

"Sloan!" Callie growled, not in the mood for games. "The last thing on my mind is sex, especially from you."

"Okay," Mark said seriously, knowing something was wrong, "What's up?"

"I ran out on Arizona this morning," Callie said, plopping down on the floor of the elevator. Mark hit the stop button and followed suit. "We had a huge fight, and I promised I would see her in the morning, but instead I just left."

"That's not like you, Cal," Mark replied. "What were you two even fighting about?"

"Erica is living with us."

"Of course this has to do with Hahn." Mark rolled his eyes. "I thought she had an apartment."

"Well, like I was trying to tell you the other day, her apartment flooded, and since it is around Thanksgiving the hotels were already overbooked. So Arizona invited her to stay with us without my consent."

"So? You and Erica are all peachy keen now. Why does it matter if she takes the extra room in your apartment?"

"I keep telling myself it is because Arizona asked her without consulting me. I keep telling myself that this has nothing to do with Erica."

"But…" Mark prompted.

"But…the truth is it is about Erica. I don't know if I can deal with having her in the apartment and around me all the time without it bringing back up this…stuff…that I've been pushing back for so long."

"This stuff…as in feelings?" Mark inquired. "Are you beginning to have feelings for Erica again?"

"I don't know!" Callie cried, burying her face in her hands. "She and I had a discussion this morning before I left. It started out about Arizona, but then it turned toward our past again. And when we were talking about it, it brought up all of the feelings I've been pushing back. I was angry and resentful, but at the same time upset with her for leaving in the first place.

"But then seeing how much she cares for Arizona and how protective she got when she saw me leaving without saying good-bye made me remember when she used to care that much about me. It almost made me want her to care about me like that, too. So, I don't know, Mark. I have no idea how I feel about her right now."

"It shouldn't matter, Cal," Mark said, rubbing her back gently. "You are with Arizona. You are in love with Arizona. Everyone can see that, including Erica. You need to figure exactly what you are feeling, and then let it go. But right now, I'm sure you have a very angry girlfriend who certainly deserves an explanation."

Callie nodded, standing up and pushing the resume button on the elevator. "Thanks Mark."

"It's what I'm here for babe," he said. "Now, if my best friend duties are finished, I am going to head back down stairs the way I came."

Callie laughed and headed toward the Ped's Wing to go find Arizona.

**GREYS**

It didn't take long to find Arizona. She was wheeling around the Ped's Wing on her rounds, oblivious of anything happening around her. Callie watched the beauty finally take pit stop at the central station, draining the last of her coffee and dropping it in the trash can.

"Looks like I'm just in time," Callie said, sneaking up behind her and placing another coffee in her hand.

Arizona turned to look at her girlfriend, scowling. "No. You don't get to be all sweet and cute this morning, Calliope."

"I'm sorry, Arizona," Callie said, her face growing serious. "I should've stayed. I know that. I was just pretty upset and needed to clear my head."

"I don't care, Callie!" Arizona snapped. "You promised me you would be there this morning and you weren't. You broke a promise, and that is not okay. If Erica wasn't there, I wouldn't have known where you were at all."

"I love you, Arizona," Callie said, abruptly cutting the conversation. "I made a mistake."

"I love you, too," Arizona muttered, finally taking a sip of the peace offering. "Now are we even? Can you stop punishing me for inviting Erica?"

"Of course, dear," Callie replied, kissing her gently on the lips. "We are completely even."

"Hey," Arizona said before Callie could pull her in for another kiss. "What were you and Erica talking about this morning? Erica said it wasn't just about me, but nothing more."

Callie stomach fluttered, remembering back to her conversation with Mark. "Nothing," she firmly replied. "Just some minor arguing."

"I hope it won't affect tonight," Arizona muttered, looking down a chart for her next patient.

"Wait, what is happening tonight?" Callie asked.

"Well, since this whole thing with Erica has kind of caused a rift with our relationship, I thought we could make dinner. You know, give us a chance to get some romantic alone time together as well as making a nice dinner for Erica when she gets off work to welcome her into our home."

Callie smiled. "That sounds perfect, babe."

Arizona smiled. "Great! If you see Erica, just let her know, okay? I'm going to be pretty swamped here for most of the day, but I will meet you at home at six o'clock. Just tell Erica to be there at eight."

Callie nodded in agreement, stealing one last kiss before leaving the wing. For the first time since Erica had gotten to town, Callie felt really and truly relieved.

**GREYS**

**Read and Review!**


	12. Chapter 12

**GREYS**

"Erica!" Callie yelled, catching a glimpse of the blonde as she rounded the corner toward the stairwell. "Wait up!"

Erica turned to see the Latina running after her. Rolling her eyes, she said, "What do you want, Torres? I have surgery in a few minutes."

"I'm sorry about this morning," she said. "It wasn't just about Arizona, as I'm sure you guessed."

"Yeah," Erica replied stiffly, not sure where this was going. "Look, if this is all you've got to say, can it wait? I really have to get to surgery."

"Wait," Callie said, grabbing her arm. "I'm not here to talk about us. Right now, I don't think I can without betraying Arizona. I just wanted to catch you and let you know that Arizona has planned a dinner tonight to welcome you into our home. Mind you, I will most likely actually be cooking since Arizona might burn down the kitchen otherwise. But the sentiment is there, and she is really excited about it so—"

"I'll be there," Erica replied off-handedly. She stared intensely at Callie, her hand still on the knob of the door to the stairwell. "What do you mean that you'll betray Arizona by talking about us?"

"Forget it," Callie mumbled quickly, turning around. "Just be home at eight."

"Callie," Erica called after her, surgery forgotten. "I think we need to talk about this."

"You have surgery," Callie replied over her shoulder, still walking ahead.

Erica caught up and grabbed her shoulder. "Callie, please."

"Just stop!" Callie yelled, whipping around. "I can not talk to you about this, about what I'm feeling. It will make it too real and I can't do that to Arizona. So just let it go. Go save some lives and be back by eight."

"Do you really think that if you just hold everything in and plaster on a satisfactory smile, then it'll just make whatever the hell you are feeling disappear?"

Callie snorted. "I could say the same to you."

"Excuse me?" Erica exclaimed.

"Oh, please, Erica! You think I don't see the way you look at Arizona? You think I don't notice how protective you are? It is exactly how you used to be with me."

"Exactly how you wish I still was with you?"

"Stop redirecting! Do you or do you not have feelings for my girlfriend?"

"Do you or do you not have feelings for me?"

Neither answered, but simply stared at each other, not wanting to state the truth. The silence filled the corridor until it was interrupted by the shrill beep of Erica's pager.

"Shit!" She yelled, grabbing her pager. "I'm late!" As she started back toward the stairwell, she looked back at the Latina. "I'll see you tonight?"

"Yeah," Callie answered.

"Should we mention this to Arizona?"

"She is really excited about this dinner tonight. I don't want to ruin it for her."

Erica nodded and finally disappeared through the door.

_BEEP! BEEP!_

Callie looked down at her pager. It was a 911 page from Arizona. Quickly answering the page, she navigated her way back down the hall toward the Pediatric Wing, still trying to rid her memory of anything having to do with Erica.

**GREYS**

As soon as Callie strolled into the wing, the shrieks of a child filled her ears. Cringing, she walked toward the noise, silently praying that wasn't what she was paged for.

"Dr. Torres!" Arizona yelled from the room, a tight smile across her face. Callie winced, walking into the screaming child's room. The wailing came from a young boy, around seven. His elbow was completely swollen and blue. The joint was twisted around so that it poked through the inside of his arm. The way his wrist limply fell was a sure sign of a major break. After seeing the mess of this kid's arm, she realized why he was screaming so loudly.

Standing around the boy were three very worried adults, two men and one woman. The woman sat on one side of the boy's bed, holding him to her and gently trying to shush him. One of the men sat on the other side of the boy, rubbing his back, and the other stood next to Arizona talking to her about what had happened.

"What is going on here?" Callie calmly asked. She walked toward the boy, kindly moving the man out of the way so she could get a better look at his arm.

The boy began to scream louder, reaching his other arm out toward the man who had moved. Callie leaned in, quietly telling the boy it was going to be okay. "What's your name?" she asked, smiling brightly at the upset boy.

He sniffled. "Todd."

"It's nice to meet you, Todd. Do you mind if I look at your arm? I bet I can make it all better." Todd hesitated, looking toward his mom. The woman nodded, smiling warmly at the Ortho Goddess. Once getting the go-ahead, Todd leaned toward Callie, showing her his arm.

"What exactly happened?" Callie asked the adults.

The man standing next to Arizona spoke up. "He's a curious little boy. We have a tree in our backyard. He began to climb it and got a little too high. A branch broke and he fell."

"Were you out there with him?" Arizona asked, her ears still humming even though the screaming had subsided.

"I was," the other man said. "But we have a daughter, Casey, who is a little younger than Todd. I was pushing her on the swings, and I stopped watching him for just a second…just one second…"

"This isn't your fault," the woman firmly said. Callie could tell this wasn't the first time they had had this discussion.

"So, while Callie takes care of Todd, I just need the signatures of the two parents to give us permission for x-rays, work-ups, and—"

"Oh," the man standing next to Arizona said, fidgeting slightly. "You see, this isn't exactly the most…conventional family. Adam, Grace, and I are all his parents."

Callie spoke up, eyes still trained on checking Todd's arm. "We get plenty of divorced parents through here. We just need the two birth parents—"

"I don't think that is what they mean, Dr. Torres," Arizona cut in. "I believe they mean that…"

"All three of us are together," Grace finished, looking back and forth between the two men.

Adam nodded, obviously used to the confusion. "We are in a happily committed polyamorous relationship. The three of us have been together for nine years. Matt and Grace had Todd, and Grace and I had Casey. All three of us have custody for both of them, but if you need the birth parents for consultation and consent, then I will stay with Todd while Matt and Grace go with you."

"You seem to have that rehearsed," Arizona chuckled.

Matt laughed. "We have two young kids. Believe me, this is not the first time we have had injuries to take care of. We have the explanation down to a science."

"Well, if you are all legally the parents of Todd, then it doesn't really matter who signs off on the procedures. But we need to go ahead and get that signature so I can take Todd back and see just how bad this break really is," Callie said.

Grace and Matt both signed, and with some coaxing managed to get Todd out for the x-ray. As Callie moved to lead them in the right direction, Adam stopped her. "He is going to be okay, right?"

"Of course," Callie replied. "It's a pretty nasty break, but he is young enough that it should heal fairly quickly. He just won't be climbing trees anytime soon."

Adam chuckled. "Yeah. But knowing Todd, he will probably try to even with the broken arm." Still chuckling, he moved back to help the others calm down the still upset child.

As Callie walked them to the x-ray area, she watched from the corner of her eye the way the three of them interacted. They all seemed to work so well together, and were so happy. Of course Callie knew polyamory existed, but she had never seen it first-hand like this.

Once they reached the room for Todd to get x-rayed, the parents stayed outside. The second he saw the machines, Todd started shrieking again. Callie cringed. This day was just getting longer and longer.

**GREYS**

"My ears are still ringing from that kid. He certainly had a pair of lungs," Callie groaned as she walked into the apartment that night. Arizona had gotten off work before her, so she had already gone grocery shopping to get everything they needed for the dinner tonight.

Hearing Callie's voice, Arizona turned to see her putting her coat on the coat rack. Arizona smiled at the beautiful Latina before turning back toward the stove. "I know. Mine were ringing most of the afternoon after I handed him off to you. Did you take care of him?"

"Of course I did," Callie replied, walking into the small kitchen and wrapping her arms around Arizona's slim waist. "His shrill screams did not stop me from saving his arm."

Arizona laughed, knowing how truly exaggerated that statement was. Turning in her arms, Arizona placed a steamy kiss on Callie's lips. "I love you, Calliope," she said, pulling the Latina closer.

Callie happily reciprocated, rubbing her thumb against Arizona's cheek. "I love you, too," she replied. "And I would love to take you into the bedroom and show you how much, but then we would never get dinner ready."

Arizona sighed, leaning her head back. "I guess so. I was waiting for you to get home to really start anyway. I thought we could have spaghetti. You know, simple and easy…"

"And you haven't started the water yet because?" Callie asked, smirking.

Arizona pouted. "Because I couldn't remember which dial turns on the burner…"

Callie snorted, kissing her girlfriend on the cheek and reaching around her to turn on the correct dial. "Here, grab a pot and fill it with water. It'll take a few minutes for it to reach a boil, so I'll wait for you on the couch."

Arizona grinned, nodding. "Absolutely."

Once the water was on the stove, Arizona bounced over to the living room, happily folding into her girlfriend's waiting arms. She sighed, leaning back into the warmth. "These past few days seem to have lasted months. I didn't things would ever go back to normal."

Callie chuckled. "Normal? What is the slightest bit normal about our lives? In fact, what is the slightest bit normal about anyone's life at Seattle Grace-Mercy West?"

"That's true. But there is a routine, and lately that routine has been thrown off."

Callie nodded, nuzzling her nose into the back of Arizona's neck. "I know. There has just been a lot going on. But I think things are going to go back to the way they were, starting with this dinner. I think the water is boiling, so we should go put the—"

"The water can wait a second, Calliope," Arizona said sternly, pulling her back to the couch. "Can you just talk to me for a moment?"

Callie sat back down, turning to face the blonde. "Sure, babe."

"What is going on between you and Erica? And don't you dare say that it is nothing because I know you, Calliope. And I have gotten to know Erica pretty well, too. She is my best friend. She is my Mark. I wanted to have this dinner to smooth things out between the two of you, but I am seriously unsure if it will even help. I feel like I'm missing something. Like there's a big part of this confusing puzzle that you have yet to let me in on. So, please, as my girlfriend, tell me. Is there something that I am missing? Is there something that I should know?"

Callie stayed silent, looking over toward the kitchen where the water was definitely boiling. She had to tell Arizona. If she didn't want to lose her then she had to tell her. But then, telling the truth might make her lose Arizona even faster. She sighed, rubbing her forehead before finally looking over at her wide-eyed girlfriend. "There isn't much right now I can say, Arizona. Can we just finish dinner, and spend a little time together before Erica gets here? Then after dinner, once Erica is here, we will talk."

Arizona narrowed her eyes. "You promise?"

Callie grabbed her by the waist, pulling her close. "I promise. Now can we please finish dinner? I was really looking forward to spending this time with you without all of the seriousness."

Arizona smiled, standing up and grabbing her hand. "Come on. The water is going to boil over."

**GREYS**

At 7:45, Arizona and Callie were just finishing the meal and setting the table. Both kept getting distracted, flirting and touching, making it difficult to finish the meal without jumping each other. The genuine smile on Arizona's face as she elaborated on a surgery to remove a tumor from a young girl's brain warmed Callie's heart. She didn't want to even think about the conversation they were going to have later. She just wanted to live in the happiness of this moment.

"So after five hours, we finally managed to take out the entire tumor. She only had a 40 percent chance of making it, and lived. How amazing is that?"

"How amazing are you?" Callie replied, grinning cheekily.

"Cheesy much?" Arizona giggled, taking a roll off the table and throwing it at her.

"Hey!" Callie yelped, barely managing to catch it. "Oh, it's on."

Arizona squealed as Callie advanced on her, bread in hand. She dove under the table, peeking out from under the table cloth. Callie rolled her eyes. "Real mature, Arizona."

She kneeled down, reaching her hand under the table and making contact with Arizona's side. Arizona rolled out of the way before Callie could start her tickling attack, accidently knocking over a chair as she crawled out the other side of the table. Callie rounded the table, getting behind the blonde, who was blocked by the crooked chair. Arizona turned around, her eyes getting wide as she watched Callie aim. Grinning wickedly, Callie threw the roll right at Arizona. The blonde ducked just in time, causing the piece of bread the pass over her head.

"Nice aim, Torres." Erica stood at the door, the small roll in her hand. She smirked, looking around at the scene in front of her. "Did you manage to get dinner fixed, or is this the basis of the past two hours?"

"Spaghetti is on the stove," Callie replied to her, blushing lightly. "We were waiting for you to get home to put it on the table so it wouldn't get cold."

"Or get knocked over," Erica joked, putting her coat on the rack. "I can go get it if you want to straighten up in here…"

"No!" Arizona cried, running over to the kitchen. "I'll get it!"

Erica watched her, throwing a confused look Callie's way. Callie rolled her eyes. "Like I told you, she can't cook. I ended up making all of dinner, and so I designated it her job to set up and put the food on the table. She's a little excited."

Erica chuckled. "I can tell. Can I at least help you clean up?"

"Sure," Callie replied, moving to smooth down the table cloth. Erica grabbed the chair that had toppled over and set it upright. Callie looked at her. "So, Arizona got all serious on me earlier."

"Oh, yeah?" Erica nonchalantly answered, still occupied with fixing the table. "That's surprising. She is hardly ever completely serious. What was it about?"

Callie watched her intently as she spoke. "You know her really well, don't you?"

Erica rolled her eyes. "Can we not start this up again? I thought we agreed not to have this discussion with her tonight. Neither of us is willing to fess up to what we are feeling for each other…or for her…or whatever. So let's just have this nice dinner and forget about everything else."

_CRASH._

"You have feelings for each other?"

Erica cringed, slowly looking over to see Arizona standing in the entrance to kitchen, tomato sauce and pasta splattered all over floor, as well as her calves and feet. The look in her eyes chilled Erica to the bone. The usual warmth was completely frozen over.

Callie closed her eyes, breathing deeply. "That was not at all where I was going with that, Erica. But now that we are on the subject, maybe we should have that conversation. Like, now."

"I knew something was going on," Arizona whispered, her voice icy. "I just can't believe I honestly trusted you. Either of you."

"Arizona, there is more to it than that—"

"Just stay the hell away from me." Arizona brushed past Callie, moving to her bedroom and slamming the door behind her.

"So, we're in deep shit," Erica said, sinking down into a chair at the table.

Callie nodded, paling. It was completely silent in the bedroom. Silence was never a good sign. "I'll go talk to her," Callie finally decided. "Just…clean up or something."

"I think the clean-up can wait. This isn't something between just you and Arizona, Callie. I'm in the middle of this, too. You can't just shove me out."

Callie nodded, not wanting to argue. All of the lies and secrets had started because of Erica coming back to Seattle. If things were going to get better, they had to be straightened out now.

The only problem was, Callie still had to choose who she wanted more: the beautiful, spontaneous blonde who made her whole when she thought she was broken forever, or her original rock who she had honestly never completely gotten over.

Watching Erica knock on the door, Callie's heart sank. It was the moment of truth. Did she really have to choose?

**Read and Review!**


	13. Chapter 13

**GREYS**

Arizona was curled up on her bed, too numb to move. She could vaguely hear one of them knocking on the other side of the door, but couldn't bring herself to open the door. She couldn't even comprehend what she had heard from the kitchen. They had feelings for each other?

So, Callie had just pulled her along. She had just used her as a placeholder until Erica returned. Even Erica had used her. She had gotten close to her, even got Arizona to invite her into their home, just to pull Callie out from under her. It was so ridiculous that Arizona could barely wrap her mind around it. What kind of monster does that? Monsters that deserve each other, that's for sure.

"Arizona!" Erica called through the door. Arizona could barely hear it over the pounding in her ears. Every sound around her was just a dull hum. Her world was crashing and the weight was pulling her down. Pulling her knees to her chest, she squeezed her eyes shut, hoping that when she opened them she would still be under the table, peeking out at her wonderfully faithful girlfriend from behind the tablecloth.

**GREYS**

"Callie, can you stop cleaning and help me here?" Erica snapped at the Latina. "The spaghetti can wait. She isn't opening the door."

"She's upset," Callie replied, slowly getting up from the floor where she was cleaning.

"But there is no need for her to be upset!" Erica cried. "This one huge misunderstanding and you aren't even trying to clear this up. What is wrong with you, Callie?"

"Of course I want to clear this up," Callie muttered.

"Oh, do you?" Erica asked incredulously. "Because right this second it seems like I care about her more than you do."

"Shut up, Erica!" Callie yelled. "You have no idea what I'm feeling, or what is going through my head right now. Why am I not trying to get through to her? Because anything I say right this second will make things worse. I do have mixed feelings. She's right. The only thing she is wrong about is if she thinks I don't have feelings for her anymore. But will it help to tell her that? No. What she wants to hear is that I love her and only her and that you are a non-issue. That isn't the case."

"Then tell her that," Erica replied, moving away from the door toward Callie. "I know how confused you are, but holding it in and not telling her is what caused this in the first place. The only way to deal with this is to face it head-on."

Callie nodded, comforted by Erica's hand on her back. She chuckled. "Since when have you gotten so good at comforting? Human emotions used to freak you out."

"They still do," Erica replied. "But since I've met Arizona, I've gotten better about it. She's kind of emotional, in case you haven't noticed."

Callie laughed despite herself. "Oh, I've noticed. We can't go into a dog shelter without her bursting into tears."

Erica nodded. Hesitating for only a moment, she pulled Callie into a warm hug. "Time to face the music," Erica whispered in her ear before pulling back.

Callie agreed, reluctantly pulling back and facing the door. Reaching above the door, she grabbed a thin key and placed it in the lock. Before opening the door, she turned back to Erica. "Just give us a minute, please? I don't want to ambush her and make it worse."

Erica rolled her eyes. "Okay. You have one minute, in counting. Then I'm coming in."

Callie turned the key and opened the door. Arizona faced away from the door, knees bent toward her. Callie cautiously sat on the edge of the bed, gently placing a hand on Arizona's back. "Hey, can we talk please?"

Arizona didn't move. Callie furrowed her brow. Pulling her hand away, she moved around to the other side so she could see Arizona's face. The blonde was asleep. Her face was pale and tear-streaked, as if she had cried herself to sleep. It broke Callie's heart to know that she had done this to her. This was a frail, transparent version of her lover. Callie had broken her. Callie and Erica had both broken her.

Careful not to wake her up, Callie lightly kissed her on the forehead. "I'm sorry," she whispered, tears spilling down her cheeks. "I'm so sorry."

The Latina looked up to see Erica leaning against the doorframe. "It's been a minute," she said. Callie shushed her, gesturing to the sleeping blonde.

"She cried herself to sleep, Erica," Callie muttered. "I've completely broken her."

"Well, there is no need to wake her now," Erica replied, moving slightly further into the room. "We'll just talk to her in the morning."

Callie didn't move. She just watched her lover sleep, tears dripping down her face, shaking her head. Erica moved around the bed, grabbing Callie and moving her away from the bed. Erica steered her by the shoulders out of the bedroom.

"Look, you sitting there watching her isn't going to make anything better. If anything, it will wake her up and make things worse."

Callie slumped over, shrugging her agreement. Looking over Erica's shoulder at Arizona's sleeping figure, she said, "I know it's kind of early, but this night has been exhausting. So maybe we can just go to sleep…"

"Absolutely," Erica agreed. "We can clean up tomorrow."

Callie looked around in bewilderment. "Where am I going to sleep? I can't sleep in there with her. And I certainly can't sleep in your bed. That would make everything worse. So I guess the couch…"

"Why don't we both just sleep on either side of Arizona? She needs to know that we aren't going anywhere, and it will be the easiest way to keep her from running and get her to listen to us. Plus, it might be a comfort for her to know that we haven't abandoned her."

Callie nodded. From the look in her eyes, Erica could see she was still pretty upset. Erica moved closer again, pulling Callie toward her. "Hey, stop thinking. There is nothing more to be done tonight. Let's just go on to sleep and worry about Arizona in the morning. We are going to be right in there with her. She isn't going anywhere."

Callie looked up at her with pleading eyes. "You're sure?"

"Yes," Erica answered, ushering her back toward the door. "I am very sure."

Callie stopped her. "I still have feelings for you. But I can't do this to Arizona. I need her. You see what knowing that she is so upset is doing to me. It is killing me."

Erica shushed her. "We'll talk about it in the morning. I will call in and tell them that we are all going to be late."

Callie didn't say anything more, just simply turned and went back into the bedroom to change into sleep clothes. Erica sighed. Didn't Callie see that this was killing her too? Arizona meant just as much to her as she did to Callie. To see Arizona so hurt was excruciating. But Callie was an absolute mess. Erica needed to stay strong for her. Emotions were not an option.

**GREYS**

When Arizona regained consciousness, light was streaming through the bedroom window. Her head was pounding, and her body felt heavy. She kept her eyes closed, trying to block out the memory of the night before. Her eyes were already stinging with unshed tears as the betrayal seeped in. She moved to turn onto her side and go back to sleep. An arm wrapped around her waist from behind and pulled her tight, while a figure in front of her unconsciously crawled closer and cuddled into her. Arizona's eyes shot open. She immediately sat up, looking around to see what the hell was going on.

The sudden movement awoke Erica. She and Arizona made eye contact. Without saying anything, Arizona looked toward the clock. "Shit," she muttered, attempting get out of bed.

"I called in and told them we were going to be late," Erica said, grabbing Arizona's shoulder and pulling her back.

"Well, I'm going in," Arizona retorted, once again moving to get out of bed. "You can stay here with Callie if you want. Just move to your own bed, if you don't mind."

"Arizona, stop," Erica snapped. "What you heard last night was a misunderstanding. We were going to talk to you about this, but it isn't what you think."

"Oh, so even though you said that you have feelings for each other, that doesn't mean that you have feelings for each other? I don't know what kind of twisted world you live in, Hahn."

"No. I said what I said and I meant it, whether you were meant to hear it or not. There is just more to it than you know."

"Look, I don't give a shit what you two do together or don't do. I'm done. I'm going into work, and when I get back I'm leaving. There is nothing that you can say to make me change my—"

"I have feelings for you," Erica blurted out. She didn't know what else to say to make Arizona stay and listen to her. "That is what makes this so complicated. It isn't just that Callie has feelings for me, or for you. It is also that I'm falling for you, hard. I've tried to stop it. Really, I have. You are the closest friend I've had in a long time, and you are my ex's girlfriend. Last night, Callie was a mess because she knew that you were a mess. She needs you. She needs you, and I am just making your relationship more complicated. So if anyone is leaving, it's me. Seattle Grace can find another Cardio Surgeon. They seem to go through them pretty fast as it is."

"They won't find one like you," Arizona muttered. She didn't turn around to face Erica from where she sat on the end of the bed. She had no idea that Erica was feeling anything for her. Arizona was so caught up in Callie that she was blind to anything else around her. She was so caught up that she didn't even notice that Callie was feeling anything for anyone else.

After several minutes of silence, Erica moved down the bed closer to Arizona, but didn't touch her. "I don't know how to make this better. We can't change what happened last night. But I really think that the best thing for you and Callie is if I wasn't here."

Arizona snorted. "Mark sure would like that."

"Yeah," Erica said, chuckling. "He never has taken a liking to me."

"I don't want you to leave, Erica. You're my best friend. It drives me nuts if I don't see you. I don't want you going all the way across the country. If you just left again, I don't think Callie could handle it."

"Callie would get over it," Erica replied. "She is in love with you. She said last night that she couldn't live without you. It's what is best for you."

"No, Erica, it isn't," a voice said from behind them. Arizona and Erica turned to see a weary-eyed Callie sitting up behind them. "You can't leave again. I need you here, and so does Arizona."

Arizona stiffened at her voice. While talking to Erica was difficult, hearing Callie was impossible. The tears welled up again. She briskly brushed them away and stood up from the bed. "I didn't know you were awake. I'm going to work. I guess I might be back later."

"Arizona, wait, please," Callie pleaded. "Can we just talk for moment? I wasn't hiding this from you. I was going to tell you after dinner last night what was going on. I've been listening to your conversation and Erica was partially right. What you heard last night has so much more to it that we still need to sit down and figure out. But she was partially wrong in thinking that we don't need her here. So can you sit down and just finish this? If you are still unhappy when all is said and done, then you know the way out."

Arizona stared at her. She had stopped pushing away the tears so they were now flowing freely once again. "I'm in love with you, Calliope. I'm so fucking in love with you that I've changed my views on a lot of things, including kids, just so I can be with you. Do you realize what was going through my head the second I heard Erica say that you had feelings for each other? Absolutely nothing. Because the moment that statement left her mouth I went numb. We've had our entire future planned out, and you've been mentally cheating on me this whole time. I can't imagine myself without you, so how can you imagine yourself without me?"

"I can't," Callie replied, her voice shaking. "I can't imagine myself without you. I love you. But I'm so confused right now, Arizona. I can't stop how I'm feeling. I get jealous when I see how protective Erica is of you, and it's because I want her to feel that way for me too. I want her to care about me the way she obviously cares about you. I can't lose you, but at this point I don't think I can lose her either."

"You have to choose, Callie," Erica interjected. "And I'd suggest you choose her. I've already left you once, and Arizona has been here supporting you ever since. While I regret that now, I am not going to sit here and listen to you throw away an amazing girl over an old flame. You can't have both of us, as convenient as that would be."

"Why not?" Callie yelled. She pointed at Arizona. "You saw how happy those parents with the screaming kid were! Why can't we be that happy? Erica cares about you so fucking much, as much as I do. So is there any reason this can't happen?"

"Wait, what the hell are you talking about, Torres?" Erica said. "What screaming kid?"

Arizona sighed. "Todd. Calliope, they were happy because they worked toward it. They didn't just throw themselves together because one of them developed feelings for someone else. This is a lot more complicated, and it can't be fixed just by becoming polyamorous. You can't just invite Erica into our relationship as a compromise. That is completely selfish."

"How is it selfish, Arizona?" Callie retorted. "Is it selfish that I don't want Erica to leave again? You don't want that either. You said it yourself. So why can't we just talk about even the possibility?"

"Talk about what? What possibility?" Erica interrupted, utterly confused. "One of you better explain what the hell is going on."

"Callie wants to start a polyamorous relationship among the three of us. You know, all of us date each other? But do you know what this kind of relationship causes? Jealousy and hatred. You already mentioned that you were jealous about the way Erica treats me, Calliope. Do you really think starting a relationship in which she will be treating me that way all the time and I will be reciprocating is really the most proactive way to clear everything up? I don't think so."

"It wouldn't be the same, Arizona!" Callie said, tugging at her hair in frustration. "This isn't about you, or about me. It's about all of us. After what you heard last night, do you honestly think you can just go back to you and me? Our relationship would be complete bullshit. I'm not saying that we rush into this, or start right away. I'm saying that we think about it. I love you, Arizona. I don't know what I would do without you. But I can't go back to before, and you can't either."

Arizona remained silent. She was out of arguments, and too tired to fight anymore. Looking over at Erica, she asked, "What do you have to say about all of this? You're kind of involved in this too."

Erica shook her head, unsure what to even say. "I think we all need some space to think about all of this. This just wasn't what I was expecting to come out of this conversation."

"Yeah," Callie muttered. "You were planning to run again."

"I was planning to do whatever would be best for me to fix what I screwed up between you two. And honestly, I don't know if adding me to the mix is even the best idea. It would get really complicated, really fast."

Arizona rolled her eyes and moved toward her dresser. "Let's just go to work. Erica's right. We need space to think about this. I think saving little humans would help clear my head, so I'm leaving for rounds."

"I'm right behind you," Erica replied, heading to her bedroom.

Once she was out of sight, Callie got up off the bed and moved behind Arizona. "Can you look at me for a second, please?"

Arizona turned, face cold. Callie gently touched her face. "I love you. I'm sorry I'm putting you through this. But just think about it, please?"

Arizona looked down, not wanting to give in to Callie's touch. "I'm going to work," she said. She moved away without looking at the Latina, taking the clothes she had grabbed with her.

Callie heard the door slam a few moments later. Walking out, she met Erica in the kitchen, cleaning up what was left from the night before. Erica looked at the door, and then back at Callie. "She might not come back."

Callie scoffed. Grabbing her keys off the bar, she looked back over her shoulder as she walked out the door and spat, "You know all about that, don't you?"

**GREYS**

When Erica came back that evening, the apartment was empty. She hadn't seen or attempted to speak to either of the other two all day. She grabbed a bottle of wine and glass before heading to the living room and kicking her feet up. Taking slow sips of her wine, Erica leaned her head back and let the stresses of the day float away.

Within a few minutes, Erica heard the door open as someone else walked in. She kept her eyes closed, too relaxed to want to deal with drama again. Taking another sip, she heard someone snort in front of her.

"Do you mind sharing?" she heard Arizona ask. Opening one eye, she saw the blonde giving her an amused look. Erica nodded, patting the place on the couch beside of her.

"So, how was your day?" Erica asked, trying to make uncomfortable small talk. Both of them knew what was bubbling under the surface but neither wanted to bring it up just yet.

Arizona shrugged. "I saved some little humans, and fixed some delinquent charts. It was a pretty slow day, all in all. I checked the board before I left. Calliope has back-to-back surgeries tonight. She probably won't be back until later."

Erica nodded, gesturing for Arizona to sit. They sat in a comfortable silence, each occasionally sipping their glasses. Both were too consumed in their own thoughts to really speak.

After nearly half an hour, Arizona scooted over and placed her head against Erica's shoulder. "I didn't know you had feelings for me."

"I didn't want you to know," Erica replied. "You have Callie. I didn't want to screw that up."

"If anyone screwed up my relationship with Callie, it was her," Arizona said. "She's been so angry with me because I went behind her back to invite you here. She made me feel so guilty, even making me sleep on the couch. It's so fucking hypocritical. She's been going behind my back and lying to me for who knows how long."

"So are you going to stay with her?"

"I don't know," Arizona replied. "As much as I hate her right now, I still love her. I just don't know if we can go back to the ways things were now that everything is out in the open."

Erica didn't reply. She just leaned her own head against Arizona's. Arizona giggled. "Do you remember that first day we met?"

Erica chuckled, nodding. "I was in a hurry to meet up with Derek, and knocked into you."

"You completely ruined my chart!" Arizona cried, lightly punching her shoulder.

"And then you blatantly told me you were going to have sex in an on-call room," Erica replied, smirking at the memory.

"Oh, I forgot about that," Arizona groaned, putting her face in her hands. Still giggling, she looked back at Erica. "You know, when I first saw you I was super attracted to you."

Erica immediately stopped laughing, looking over at the other blonde in shock. "Oh, really?"

"Uh-huh," Arizona replied, turning to face her. "You completely flustered me. I've never been flustered like that."

"Not even with Callie?"

"No. The first time I met Callie, I was very forward with her. Hell, the first time she laid eyes on me I kissed her in the bathroom of Joe's Bar. But that's how I am with most girls. I get what I want."

"What was different with me?"

"I was taken. That was the difference. I knew it was wrong to be attracted to someone who wasn't my girlfriend."

"So, if Callie wasn't in the picture…"

"It doesn't matter," Arizona answered, leaning her head against the couch, "Callie was in the picture. Callie is in the picture. And as angry as I am at her for lying to me, Callie will still be in the picture when she comes home tonight. I'm hurt and betrayed, and she knows that. She is trying to be honest with me…with us…and I can't shun her for that."

"I agree," Erica replied. She snuck a finger under Arizona's chin and gently pulled her head to look at her. "She is trying to be honest. But more than that, she is giving you a loophole. You said that you felt it was wrong to be attracted to me because you were dating Callie. Callie is telling you that it's okay. She is too. So if I'm into you, you're into me, we're both into Callie and she's definitely into us, then why do we even have to think about it?"

"Because it isn't normal!" Arizona cried, jerking her face away. "I don't look at two people and wonder if I could date both of them at the same time. And the fact that I now know that Callie does really upsets me."

"Since when has life ever been normal?" Erica said. "We work at Seattle Grace. Threesomes are nothing new. This one is just a little less kinky and little more romantic."

Arizona snorted. "A romantic threesome. That's a new one."

"It is something new. But after all the shit that has happened in the past twenty-four hours, I think it's the only chance that any of us have at being happy again without leaving."

Arizona nodded. She looked up at Erica, worry in her eyes. "So we're doing this?"

"I guess so. I'm assuming Callie agrees."

Arizona laughed. "I don't think Callie will be able to contain herself. But there is one catch."

"Hmm?" Erica asked, furrowing her brow.

"I do not want to hear you talk about moving away from here ever again. If those words even stumble from your mouth, this is done. I can't live in fear of you walking out on me the way you walked out on Callie."

"It won't happen," Erica vehemently answered, tentatively wrapping her arms around Arizona's waist.

Arizona leaned into the touch. "You promise?"

"I promise," Erica replied, leaning over and placing a hesitant kiss on Arizona's lips. Arizona willingly reciprocated, still very nervous herself.

Erica laughed. "We're acting like teenagers. It seems like we know everything about each other, and yet we're starting all over."

Arizona shook her head, smirking. Leaning Erica back against the couch, she said, "There is so much about me you don't know. I'm sure you will quickly learn, though."

Erica smiled as Arizona reached down to kiss her neck. "I think this arrangement is going to work."

**GREYS**

**Sorry for the wait! Read and Review!**


	14. Chapter 14

**GREYS**

"Arizona! Seriously? Get out of bed! We have to be at Meredith and Derek's in an hour!" Callie yelled from the kitchen. She knew that Arizona was not a morning person, but this was ridiculous. Callie had been up since eight preparing food to take over for Thanksgiving, and Erica had gotten up not long after. But Arizona was still in bed, covers pulled over her head.

"She is in the shower," Erica said, coming out of the bedroom. She walked over to Callie and wrapped her arms around the Latina's waist. "You need to relax. Today is your day off, too."

"Well it doesn't feel like it," Callie muttered, too preoccupied to reciprocate Erica's affections. "At this rate, none of us are going to get out on time. I know Arizona. She takes forever to get ready. And I have yet to start getting ready myself."

"Then go get ready," Erica replied, kissing her temple while ushering her back toward the bedroom. "I can finish getting the food prepared. All I have to do is stir this brown stuff, and make sure the orange blotchy stuff in the oven doesn't burn, right?"

"Really, Erica?" Callie said, rolling her eyes. "You mean the gravy that Lexie asked me to make for the turkey, and the sweet potato hash. Yes, that's all you have to do. You take care of that while I go prod the problem child."

Erica chuckled, watching Callie move back into the bedroom. The three of them had only been together a few days, but already they were getting comfortable in the relationship. Having both Callie and Arizona made Erica happy. She was lucky.

"Arizona! Stop this. I am not in the mood for games. Please just go get ready!" Erica could hear Callie's exasperated tone along with Arizona's giggles come through the walls. The door opened and out walked Arizona in only a towel, her hair dripping.

She looked over toward Erica with a twinkle in her eye. Sauntering over, she pouted lightly. "I swear, Calliope has a stick the size of Texas shoved up her ass this morning. I just wanted some coffee…"

Erica snorted, willingly receiving a kiss from the steamy blonde. "She is just a little stressed about today. So just tone down on the feisty stubbornness please?"

"We all know the drill. We're keeping our relationship with you on the down-low for now so that no one else finds out until Calliope tells Mark. Which she really should do soon…but that is beside the point. The point is that there is no reason for Callie to be this uptight this morning."

"I agree, but I don't think you walking around in a towel, when we both know you take forever to get ready, is helping much. So as much as I love this look on you, will you just comply with her? We really do have to leave soon."

Arizona playfully rolled her eyes. "Fine," she huffed. "I'll go make nice." Leaving her coffee on the table, she tightened her towel and headed back toward the bedroom.

Not even a moment later, Erica heard a loud squeal come from the other room. Completely bewildered, she left her task and made her way into the other room. Once she entered the bedroom, she leaned against the doorway, taking in the scenario. Callie was lying flat on her back on the bed with Arizona straddling her waist. The towel that was originally covering the blonde had now been dropped to the floor. While Callie was struggling slightly, the lust in her eyes made it clear that she wasn't trying too hard.

"I thought you said you were going to make nice," Erica finally said, making her presence known.

Arizona turned her head, keeping her hands at Callie's wrists. "I am, silly. Care to join?"

"Erica, please," Callie cried, trying not to giggle at her rambunctious girlfriend.

"I don't know," Erica said, slowly treading into the bedroom. "I'm kind of enjoying the view…"

"You are as bad as she is! I thought you were on my side!" Callie scolded.

"I'm not taking sides. I'm just saying that I'm not going to interfere. But, just so you know, it's almost noon and Mark is going to be here any second with Lexie."

"What about Mark?" A voice bellowed from the other room.

"Shit!" Callie hissed. "I forgot he was meeting us here—"

"Well, this is quite the show," Mark cut in, grinning from behind where Erica was standing. Arizona squealed and ran into the bathroom, locking the door behind her.

"I didn't know a peep show was part of the roommate package, Erica," Mark snidely remarked. "If I had known that, then I would've jumped on the chance to move in here."

Callie scowled, brushing past Erica and shoving Mark back into the living room. "You have a girlfriend, asshole. And you might want to watch your mouth if you want to keep her."

Mark held his hands up in mock surrender. "Hey, it's not my fault. The door was open. And I'm perfectly happy with my girlfriend, thank you very much. Maybe Erica should find one herself. She seemed to get a little too much pleasure from watching you two get it on…"

"Mark!" Callie exclaimed. "That is none of your—"

"I'm going on to Meredith's," Erica cut in. "Do you want me to take anything?"

"Yes, just take the hash please," Callie said, shooting Erica an apologetic look.

"No problem," Erica stiffly replied, not even looking at Callie. She swiftly turned and walked toward the kitchen. Casserole dish in hand, she said, "I guess I will see you guys there. Happy Thanksgiving, Mark."

Mark smirked. "Happy Thanksgiving, Erica."

Callie glared at him. Hearing the door slam shut, she slapped Mark's shoulder. "Why do you have to be such a dick, Mark? She is trying to be nice to you, and you have to ruin it."

"She was literally standing there while you and Arizona were getting it on!" Mark cried. "Was she just completely invisible to you two? That is not normal roommate behavior, Callie."

"She is Arizona's best friend," Callie muttered, shoving Mark out of the way as the moved into the kitchen to take care of the gravy. "Arizona doesn't care if Erica sees her naked! But you do nothing but objectify her and make her seem like just some sex toy. Is that how you are with Lexie, too?"

"Oh come on, Cal," Mark replied. "You know I'm not like that with Lexie. But it was funny! She was completely naked. How was I supposed to act?"

"Oh, I don't know," Callie snipped. "Maybe like a mature human being?"

The door to the bedroom creaked open. Arizona popped her head out. "Is Erica still here?"

"No, she went on to Meredith's," Callie replied, leaning against the counter.

Mark narrowed his eyes playfully. "You still naked behind that door, Blondie? Why don't you come on out and play?"

"I want him out, now," Arizona snapped at Callie. Looking at Mark, she snarled, "If you so much as even look my way today, I swear that I will strangle your neck like a Thanksgiving turkey. I do not want you near me. I do not want to hear the bullshit that explodes from your mouth. Not today."

"Mark, you should leave," Callie said, sighing. "Girlfriend trumps best friend."

"Girlfriend trumps asshole…" Arizona muttered, slamming the door behind her.

"What about Lexie?" Mark asked.

"Call her. Tell her to meet you there. I don't know, Mark. I just know that right now, you can't be here. Arizona was completely serious. She will kill you if you stay."

Mark chuckled, walking toward the door. Just as it closed, he darted his head back in and said, "If the last thing I see is a hot naked blonde, then I will die a happy man." The door slammed, causing the spoon aimed for his head to hit the wood instead.

**GREYS**

When Arizona and Callie reached Meredith's house, they could already hear the festivities happening inside. Music and laughter rang through the walls. The girls walked in, hand-in-hand.

Arizona was extremely tense. She had been quiet the entire car ride. Callie squeezed her hand. "Are you okay?"

"I just want to talk to Erica," Arizona muttered, still stiff. "And I want booze. This is Meredith's house. Surely there is some sort of alcohol around here somewhere."

"Check the living room," Callie said, kissing her temple. "There is probably plenty of booze in there. Erica said she was coming here so just look around."

"Thanks for the advice, Sherlock," Arizona muttered bitterly.

Callie dropped her hand. "Look, I'm sorry about Mark. He is a dick. You know that."

"No, Calliope. Alex is a dick. Mark is an absolute monster. How can you defend him when he acts like that? He looks at me like I'm a piece of meat, not his equal or his colleague. I've dealt with him for as long as we've been together because he is your best friend and I respect that. But after how he treated me…after how he treated _Erica_…."

"I know. That was completely uncalled for, and I called him out on it!"

"You did not. I could hear you through the door, Calliope. The most you did was maybe slap him on the wrist, if that."

Callie sighed. "Can we not argue, please? This is not the time or the place. What's done is done. Mark knows to stay away from you, and I will tell him to stay away from Erica. Okay?"

Arizona scoffed, brushing past her and walking toward the living room. "Yeah, and while you're at it maybe you can mention to him that you're dating her, too. But wait, that would require outing our dirty little secret, wouldn't it?"

"It's not a dirty little secret, Arizona!" Callie tried to say, but Arizona was already out of earshot.

Before Arizona had walked even a few feet, Erica was at her side, shoving a glass of wine in her hand. Arizona gave a sigh of relief, leaning into her. "You are just who I was looking for."

Erica chuckled. "I'm just that good."

"I don't even want to be here right now," Arizona said. Grabbing Erica's hand, she said, "Can we just go somewhere private? Just for a few minutes? Please?"

Erica nodded, leading her back out the front door. Arizona blindly followed, not the least bit concerned with where she was taking her. Within a few moments, Erica car came into view, parked pretty far down the street.

Erica leaned against her car, Arizona immediately collapsing into her, tears falling from face. "She just doesn't get it, Erica," Arizona cried, burying her face in Erica's neck. "I'm completely humiliated. When it was just me and you playing around with Calliope, I was really happy. I just wanted time to freeze so I could stay there with you two forever. And then Mark waltzes in like he lives here. He took one look at me and…ugh. I don't want to know what dirty awful things went through his head. I was completely vulnerable, and Callie did nothing."

Erica rubbed her back, unsure of what to say. She had her own issues with Callie as well, but Arizona was too upset to really listen. Finally, she said, "Do you want me to talk to her? I have a few things that I want to set straight as it is."

Arizona nodded. Wiping her face, she took a step back, giving Erica a little space. "I don't know if she will listen or just take Mark's side again, but I would appreciate it if you would at least try."

"No problem," Erica replied. "Are you coming back in or staying out here?"

"I'm gonna stay," Arizona answered, kicking up a few leaves. "It is really hot in that house. I feel like I can't breathe."

"Alright," Erica said, squeezing her hand. "But don't stay out here too long. The food is probably going to be served soon enough." She squeezed Arizona's hand once more, giving her a gentle kiss, and then walked back inside to have a talk with Callie.

**GREYS**

Callie wandered through the house trying to figure out where Mark was. Once she made it to the kitchen, she could see Lexie by stove, heating up the last few dishes. The turkey sat on the counter.

"Wow," Callie smiled, startling Lexie. "That is one gorgeous turkey."

"It's huge," Lexie replied, smiling kindly. "I wasn't sure how many people were coming, so I just got the biggest one I could find. Good thing, too. Everyone is here."

"If this is Meredith's house, then why isn't Meredith doing all of the cooking?" Callie inquired, leaning against the counter.

"The closest Meredith has ever come to cooking dinner is Ramen Noodles. Her idea of a fancy meal is opening a bottle of wine."

Callie chuckled. Lexie turned to look at her. "Erica brought in your hash. It looks delicious. Do you need me to reheat the gravy?"

"Shit!" Callie yelled. In all of the heated drama from the morning, she had completely forgotten it back at the apartment. "I'm sorry Lex. It isn't here. Some stuff happened this morning—"

"I'm well aware of what happened in your apartment this morning," Lexie cut in. "I should be the one apologizing for my boyfriend being a complete bonehead."

Callie laughed. "Yeah, bonehead is good word for it."

"I don't know. I think asshole might be a better synonym for his actions this morning," Erica said as she walked into the kitchen.

Callie turned around to see Erica leaning against the door frame. The atmosphere in the room quickly grew heavy with tension. Lexie could feel it, and opted to make her exit.

"Well, I think I will go try and find the bonehead," she chuckled nervously. "Just watch the food, will you?"

"Sure, Lex," Callie off-handedly replied, still watching Erica. Once the brunette was out of sight, Callie spoke again. "Erica—"

"Just shut up," Erica interrupted, walking toward her. Intertwining her fingers into Callie's dark hair, Erica crashed their lips together in a heated kiss.

Callie instinctively reciprocated for a moment, but quickly backed away. "Erica, you know we can't—"

"We can't what, Callie?" Erica snapped. "We can't kiss, we can't touch. I can't even look at you in a more than friendly way unless we're in private! I am your girlfriend too, you know. I don't think you really understand how much it hurts to feel like you are ashamed of me. And I know you don't know how much it hurts Arizona."

"What do you want me to say, Erica?" Callie sighed, leaning back against the counter.

"I just want to know that you really want this," Erica replied, stepping toward her. "I want you to stand by me when Mark says the shit he said about me this morning. I want to know that this is more than just a fantasy for you. You are the one that brought up this arrangement. You are the one that couldn't choose. That is on you. And the way you are acting makes me feel like I made a mistake by getting involved."

"You aren't serious," Callie said, her breath catching. "You know I want this. You promised you wouldn't walk away."

Erica shook her head. "I promised Arizona that. And I'm not walking away. I'm just saying that if you really care about me, or about this, then you need to start acting like it. I'm sick of getting called out for flirting with _my girlfriends_ because no one has a clue."

Callie reached out toward her. Erica turned away before she could. "Fix this," she said as she left the room.

"Erica—" Callie called, but she was already gone.

"Crazy bitch," Mark's snide voice said from behind her. "You should really get her out of your apartment. She's leaving after Thanksgiving, right? Once a hotel space opens?"

Callie didn't say a word. She could feel the heat rising up her neck. Mark took no notice. "So, I'm actually looking for Blondie. You know, your Blondie. I couldn't care less about the other. Lexie told me to apologize. I guess I wasn't entirely appropriate this morning. Anyway, I just wanted to talk to her. Do you know where she is?"

"No," Callie replied. "She's pretty mad at me, too."

"What for?"

"It's complicated. But stop talking shit about Erica, okay? You don't know the half of it, so stop."

"What the hell are you talking about, Torres?" Mark said, furrowing his brow.

"Nothing, Mark. Forget it," Callie muttered, walking away from him.

"Hell, no," Mark replied, quickly following her. "What aren't you telling me?"

Ignoring him, she kept walking toward the living room. It was extremely crowded with everyone mingling before the meal was served. Mark followed close behind. Finally getting close enough, he grabbed her shoulder.

"Stop this, Cal," he said, turning her around. "You tell me everything. What aren't you telling me now?"

Callie sighed. She could see Arizona coming through the front door with Erica following her, gently pushing her back inside. She had to stop this. All she wanted was to walk away from Mark, kiss both of them, and apologize.

Mark followed her gaze. "Why do I feel like I'm seriously missing something?"

Before Callie could reply, Meredith stood in entrance to the dining room, beckoning everyone to come eat. Erica and Arizona walked through the living room, greeting Owen and Christina as they walked past. Shaking off Mark, she followed the crowd.

Mark glared at the back of Callie's head. "This is not over, Torres."

Callie whipped around. "Of course it isn't. It's never over, Mark. I could tell you everything I'm thinking and feeling right now. I could totally release that burden. But releasing that burden will only cause another. Nothing in my life can just go right and be okay. Someone has to hate someone else. There has to be confusion and hurt. So just for today, can you forget about it? Please, just apologize to Arizona. I would like you to apologize to Erica too, because you are a total and complete ass to her every time you see her, but I know you won't. So apologize to Arizona. Make my life a little easier, please?"

"Why do you stand up for her?" Mark asked. "I'm not trying to throw it in your face, because I know you are happy with Arizona now, but why do you stand up for Erica? I've seen a lot of bad breakups. In fact, I've had a lot of bad breakups. She was your first for a lot of things, Callie. It took a lot for you get back on your feet. So why forgive her?"

"Why did you forgive Lexie, Mark?"

"Because I love her…" Mark replied, trailing off. Suddenly, the pieces came together. He shook his head. "No. You are stronger than this, Callie. She has broken you down. Do not give up Arizona for her. She isn't worth it!"

"So Lexie was worth a second chance, but Erica isn't?" Callie shot back.

"I wasn't dating someone else, Torres!" Mark yelled.

A single spoon fell. Both looked over to see the entire dining room watching them. Heat rose to Callie's cheeks. "For once, can my entire life not be on display?"

"No," Mark replied, ignoring the audience, "Because then it wouldn't be your life. As much as you pretend to hate it, you love the attention and the drama. Otherwise you wouldn't stand here and tell me that you are leaving Arizona."

Amongst the shocked silence, a single snort erupted from the room. Callie looked over to see Erica shushing the culprit, Arizona herself, while they both tried not to giggle. The Latina rolled her eyes, smirking at the two. "I'm not leaving Arizona. I'm dating Erica, and so is she. We're happy. Or we were, until you came in this morning acting like a child and causing drama."

"So…like a threesome?" Alex stated from the dining room.

"A romantic threesome," Arizona replied, immediately bursting into uncontrollable laughter along with Erica.

"You see, Mark?" Callie said, trying to ignore her lovers. "This seems complicated, but it isn't. In fact, surprisingly enough, it is probably the least complicated thing in my life right now. I'm happy. They both make me happy. So get over yourself, and get over your grudge. I am not going to let your snarkiness ruin this holiday. Happy Thanksgiving, Mark. Now let's go eat."

Grabbing Mark's hand, she pulled him into the dining room with everyone else. They took the two remaining seats, right next to each other between Lexie and Arizona. The meal commenced as if nothing had happened, with lively conversation from every direction.

Callie handed Mark the mashed potatoes. He begrudgingly accepted. "How long has this been going on?"

Callie shrugged. "Not long. We were keeping it to ourselves until I told you."

"I still don't like her," Mark grumbled.

"I'm over what happened, okay? I've been over it. So you need to do the same. She isn't the same person she was when she left."

"She hasn't changed that much…"

"She is staying. She promised. And that is enough for me," Callie replied, looking to her best friend for approval.

Mark sighed. "So when are Lexie and I coming over for dinner?"

Callie grinned. "Anytime, Mark."

**GREYS**

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	15. Chapter 15

**GREYS**

"Callie, please watch out. You are going to hurt yourself," Erica said to her girlfriend, who was standing on a chair stringing lights around every inch of the apartment. They both had gotten home early from work, and were finally getting around to putting up Christmas decorations. Christmas music blasted from the stereo. They had promised to wait to put up the tree until Arizona got home, but decided it would be safer to get up the rest before she got home. Arizona tended to cause unintended trouble when trying to help.

"I am fine, Erica," Callie huffed. This was the third time Erica had called out her concern. Yes, she was teetering a little, but she was not about to fall. Erica stood behind her, ready to catch her if she did.

Just as she was almost halfway through stringing the lights, Callie's phone rang. Erica grabbed it, still keeping one hand up to spot Callie. Seeing the caller ID, she rolled her eyes.

"Hello, Mark," she tensely greeted. Even though Mark was getting used to the fact that Erica was back in Callie's life, he still wasn't terribly receptive. Callie had already had to step in a couple of times to keep the two from causing a scene.

"Hahn," Mark icily responded. "Where's Torres?"

"You mean Callie?" Erica corrected. "She is probably going to break her neck hanging Christmas lights. What do you need?"

Mark chuckled. "Let me guess, she won't let you help?"

Erica smirked. "The most I am allowed to do is stand behind her to catch her just in case."

"Which I don't need!" Callie interjected.

"Did you hear her?" Erica asked, shaking her head at her girlfriend.

"Yes," Mark said. "That is Callie for you. So I called to ask Cal when the best time would be for Lexie and me to come over for dinner."

"Dinner?" Erica repeated incredulously. "Had you two planned this in advance? This is the first I've heard of it."

"We talked about it on Thanksgiving," Mark answered. "Look, this me waving the white flag, or whatever. I'm surrendering. Care to call a truce to whatever battle we've been waging?"

"I'm sure Callie would like that," she said. "Sure, Mark. I'm all for calling a truce."

"But if you hurt her again, I swear I will hunt you down and carve out your lady parts. This isn't just about Torres anymore. It's about Arizona, too. They are both great girls. You are lucky. Anyone would be. So don't screw it up."

"Don't worry, Sloan," Erica replied, watching her gorgeous Latina hang the next set of lights. "I've made my promises. I'm not going anywhere."

"Well, that's good for them I guess…" he muttered. "So, dinner?"

"Oh! Well, I'm on-call all of this week, but both Callie and I are off work by seven. Arizona had to stay late tonight, but should be back soon. Do you just want to come by around eight on Friday? Neither of them are on-call, and if I happen to get called in, it will make a better night for you."

Mark chuckled. "We'll be there. Fingers crossed that you're called in."

Erica rolled her eyes. "Good night, Mark."

As she hung up the phone, she set it back on the coffee table and walked back toward Callie. "You didn't mention that you had invited Mark and Lexie over for dinner."

"Oh, I didn't?" Callie said, feigning wide-eyed innocence. "I guess it slipped my mind."

"Slipped your mind, huh?" Erica replied, smirking. Grabbing her hips, she pulled the Latina off the chair. "Are you sure about that?"

Callie giggled, kissing her lightly. "Well, I might've been avoiding conflict…"

"I knew it!" Erica declared, pulling away. "But, you'll be glad to know, I had an entire conversation with Sloan without him starting up an argument."

"Or you," Callie corrected, sitting back into the chair she had been pulled from.

"I try not to. He is just impossible. How are you friends with him?"

"You used to be," Callie shot back. "You know, before….everything."

"Let's not get into it," Erica replied, knowing where this was going. "The past is the past. I'm over it, you're over it. We are back together with the most wonderful girl who is saving little humans as we speak."

"You started without me?" Arizona screeched as she burst through the door. "You promised!"

"Or acting like one of them…" Callie muttered, cringing.

Erica bit back a laugh at her comment. She turned to Arizona, saying, "We promised not to start the tree without you. We haven't. We are just putting up some of the other decorations as a….precaution…"

"Okay, I am not a walking safety hazard!" Arizona huffed, walking past Erica and placing herself in Callie's lap. "You act like I'm an accident waiting to happen."

"Well…" Erica began, tilting her head.

Arizona scoffed. "Well if that's how you feel, then you can take the spare bedroom tonight. Or better yet, the couch! Do not try and defend her, Calliope."

Callie shook her head, shooting Erica a helpless look. "I'm sorry, babe. I'm staying out of this one. If you don't kiss and make up, it looks like you're out in the cold."

Erica shook her head at Arizona's tantrum. "Well, you kind of need me to set up the tree, but if you're really putting me out tonight, then I guess it can wait…"

"I forgive you!" Arizona immediately replied, brightly hopping from Callie's lap to Erica's. "Now, where is that tree?"

**GREYS**

After several hours, and several Arizona-induced mishaps, the tree was up and decorated. The lights were out except for those that glowed from the tree, basking the room in a warm light. Arizona was lying out under the tree, happily humming along with the Christmas carol filling the room and nearly asleep.

Callie and Erica cuddled together on the couch, watching their significant other. Callie smiled, moving in for a kiss. "I'm glad you came back."

Erica willingly reciprocated. "I am too. I have got to be the luckiest girl in the world. Not only do I have you back in my life, but now Arizona…"

"She loves you a lot," Callie murmured, cuddling closer. "Even before we were together, I could tell that you two had a special bond. Like a secret language that no one else could comprehend."

"We still do," Erica replied. "It scares me sometimes how close we are. She and I are more than just lovers. We're best friends."

"You make her really happy. You make both of us really happy. And neither of us are going anywhere, so unless you are, you have no reason to be afraid."

Erica rolled her eyes. "I swear, the both of you ask me every day if I'm leaving. I'm promised you I wouldn't. I'm not going to break that. So stop asking, okay? I'm going to be here for a very long time."

Callie rubbed her thumb against Erica's hand, which was intertwined with hers. "I know. But you've done it before, Erica. I never thought you would leave me the last time. I mean, I screwed up plenty of times, but I thought that you always forgave me. And then you just dropped me like I was nothing, and moved across the country. I was hurting for a really long time. Arizona finally fixed me. But now you are back, and I've completely let you back in, risking everything I have with Arizona for you. And now she has let you in too, even further than I have. I don't want her to ever feel the way I felt when you left. That's why I keep asking. Everyday when I wake up, I reach over to make sure you are still here. When you have left the hospital before me, I will circle the parking lot of our apartment until I see your car. I am so afraid that you will disappear that I take extra precaution to make sure that we aren't losing you."

Erica stared at her, horrified. "I had no idea, Callie. You should've talked to me about it. We could've worked something out so you didn't have to worry so much."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. We could've gotten a tracking device of some sort," Erica joked, poking her side. "Like a tracking chip or a collar…"

Callie giggled. "Well if it's a collar, can it also be a shock collar? That would certainly be kinky in the bedroom…"

"Callie Torres!" Erica admonished. "I don't know where you got the idea that we are into kinky sex…"

"Honey, we live in a constant threesome. That is kinky in itself."

Erica chuckled, pulling her close and kissing her cheek. Finally, she looked back over to her sleeping third. "Should we wake her, or let her sleep under the tree?"

Callie thought for a moment and smirked. "Grab some blankets and pillows. We'll sleep under there with her."

Erica skeptically agreed, going into the bedroom and grabbing them off the bed. Taking the blankets from Erica, Callie scuttled over to the tree and crawled under, grabbing Arizona's waist and beckoning Erica over.

Arizona startled at the touch, looking over to see Callie. "Calliope? What time is it? Where am I? Where is Erica?"

"I'm right here, babe," Erica replied, crawling to the other side of the blonde. "Just go back to sleep. We're both right here."

Arizona nodded, relaxing as her girlfriends spooned in closer. "Good night…"

"Good night, Ari," Callie softly responded, kissing her cheek before settling in next to her. Catching Erica's gaze, she whispered, "I love you, Erica."

Erica grinned, settling in herself. "I love you too, Callie."

**GREYS**

"But you have to! Can't you get out of it?" Arizona cried, leaning against the nurses' station.

"I'm sorry, babe," Erica replied absent-mindedly while signing off a chart. "You knew I was on-call and this might come up. I can't come home tonight. It will probably be a more civil dinner without me anyway."

"That is such a cop out, Erica," Arizona huffed. "The whole reason for this dinner is to fix things between you and Mark. If you aren't going to be there, then what's the point?"

Erica grabbed the chart from the station, stopping only for a moment to kiss Arizona briefly. "I'm sorry. Tell Cal to save me some chicken piccata."

"You could push back one surgery, Hahn," Arizona called after her, knowing that she wasn't listening. Even this morning, Erica had seemed really distracted. It was so cute, waking up and seeing her girls next to her under the tree. But then Erica got a page, and left quickly after they woke up. This was the first time Arizona had seen her since, and Erica would barely look up from her chart to even talk to her.

Arizona shook her head, turning to wheel back toward the Ped's Wing. Still grumbling, she didn't look up until she a large Mark-shaped obstacle blocked her path.

"Ok, Blondie, this is the third time this week. Those wheels are mine."

"Sorry, Sloan," Arizona muttered, popping her wheels back in. "It won't happen again."

"That is what you said last time," Mark replied, holding his hand out. "I warned you. Wheels, Arizona."

"Don't you have something better to do than hassle me, Sloan? Like, oh I don't know, save lives?"

"You were the one who crashed into me, Robbins. What's up with you? You're usually butterflies and pixie dust. Today you are all cactuses and spit."

"Cactuses and spit, Mark? Really? I'm just a little annoyed that Erica isn't coming tonight. And I'm super annoyed about how nonchalant she was about it, like this dinner didn't matter at all."

"She isn't coming?" Mark exclaimed, his face lighting up.

"Do not look so happy, mister," Arizona scowled, poking his chest for emphasis. "This dinner was supposed to reconcile you two. If she isn't going to be there, then this dinner doesn't mean anything at all."

"Blondie," Mark said softly, putting Arizona's face in her hands and wiping away the tears that were beginning to swell. "The fact that I called Callie to set up dinner is reconciliation. Erica told me from the beginning that she was on-call. We're doctors. That's life. Lexie and I are still coming over and we are still having dinner. If you are happy with her, then I guess that's what matters. I'm over at your place all the time. I'm sure we will have plenty dinners together."

Arizona sighed, rolling her head back. "Okay. Well, I guess I will see you tonight then. Bye, Mark."

"Oh, no you don't," Mark cut in, grabbing her shoulder. "Wheels, Robbins."

"I was hoping you had forgotten!" Arizona cried with a twinkle in her eye. "What are you going to do with them?"

"Hide them," he replied sticking out his hand.

Arizona eyes widened. "For how long?"

"Probably until the end of the year. Now hand them over."

"That's not fair, Mark!" Arizona pouted, begrudgingly removing her wheels.

"You've run over me one too many times, Zona. I mean, really, three times in one week? This is your punishment. I will give them back in January."

"You suck, Mark!" Arizona yelled as he turned his back, a giggle in her voice. As much as he could annoy her, he sure knew how to turn her day around. Wheel-less, the blonde walked back toward Ped's, a smile on her face.

**GREYS**

Erica stood in the elevator, her head dipping in exhaustion. She had been on her feet all day, and now she was on-call far into the night. The only things that kept her from collapsing were several energy drinks and the knowledge that Shepherd had paged her into his office for a meeting. He gave no hint as to what it was about. She assumed it was for a consultation or an evaluation of her work since she got here.

Stepping off the elevator, she walked toward Derek's office. The hospital was nearly deserted. Erica felt bad about keeping this from Arizona when she ran into her earlier, but she didn't want to worry her. This meeting was most likely no big deal, and there was no reason to work either her or Callie up over it. If everything went smoothly, she might even be home before dessert.

Knocking quietly on the door, she heard Shepherd beckon from within. Opening the door, she saw Derek sitting at his desk, laughing with a woman sitting across from him. The woman looked to be about Erica's age if not a little younger, with dirty blonde hair and a kind smile. From the way she fit so easily with Derek, it was pretty obvious that they were already acquainted. Wrinkling her brow, Erica spoke up. "Dr. Shepherd. You wanted to see me?"

"Come in, Hahn," Derek said, still chuckling. "Grab a seat."

Erica cautiously closed the door, taking a seat next to the mysterious guest. "As much as I would love to chat, I do have a personal life that I am currently neglecting. So if we could get started—"

"Oh, yeah! How is that going? Arizona and Callie are both strong women. I'm sure it can't be easy to keep both of them happy," Derek interjected. Erica refrained from rolling her eyes. She was not interested in socializing tonight.

"What?" the other girl cried incredulously. "Callie _and_ Arizona? Mark told me that the drama around here was at an all-time high, but he didn't mention that it had anything to do with The Golden Couple."

"Hey!" Derek scolded, gently slapping her wrist. "You know that Meredith and I are The Golden Couple around here! Callie and Arizona are more like The Silver Couple. And Erica now, too."

"Wow, I have been gone way too long…"

"Excuse me," Erica cut in. "It's great that you two are catching up and all, but what does your reunion have to do with me? If there is business to attend to, then I would appreciate it if we could get through it quickly."

"Right," Derek replied, shooting the mystery woman a knowing glance. "Dr. Hahn, I would like to introduce you to Dr. Teddy Altman. She was the cardiothoracic surgeon here at Seattle Grace-Mercy West before you came back."

Erica immediately froze, her blood running cold. She stiffly offered her hand. "Dr. Altman."

Teddy smiled nervously, accepting her hand and shaking it. "Dr. Hahn. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Erica didn't reply, but prompted Derek to continue. "So, what is this about?"

Derek's face grew serious. "Dr. Hahn, when I asked you to come here a few months ago, Teddy had enlisted in the military, and was heading back to Iraq."

"Yes, I am aware of the circumstances under which I was brought here," Erica coldly answered.

"Well, the circumstances have changed," Derek replied, looking back and forth between the two women.

"I don't think I completely understand, Shepherd," Erica said, her knuckles whitening. "How exactly have they changed?"

"I'm back," Teddy responded.

_Shit._

**GREYS  
**

**I know that I originally said that Teddy would not be in this, but I have obviously changed my mind. Oh, the drama! **

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	16. Chapter 16

**GREYS**

"Mark! You cheated!" Arizona yelled, pouting.

"It is kind of hard to cheat at Charades, Arizona," Mark replied, scowling playfully at her. "You are just mad because Lexie and I are winning."

"No way!" Arizona retorted. "I may be a lot of things, Mark Sloan, but I am not a sore loser. And you are only winning by a point."

"Then you're mad that I took your wheels, and you are taking it out on me in this game."

"Oh, I am mad about that," Arizona said, getting riled up. "I said it wouldn't happen again! You can't take them away for that long! My wheels make children happy! Are you a child hater, Mark? I think you are."

"Okay, end of game," Callie interjected, grabbing the bowl of cards off the table. Lexie graciously nodded in agreement. The two had been bickering back and forth all night.

Arizona and Mark each groaned in protest. "We'll stop! We promise!" Arizona pleaded, looking up at Callie with puppy dog eyes.

"The eyes aren't working tonight, Zona," Callie said, looking away. "I am drawing the line at 'child hater.' We're done."

"Who is a child hater?"

The four looked over to see Erica leaning against the doorway, confusion written across her face. Arizona beamed at her entrance, bouncing over to Callie and taking the bowl from her.

"Erica!" she exclaimed. "You can be the judge. That way, you can tell us when Mark cheats."

"I don't cheat!"

Erica smiled a little, but shook her head. "I think I will pass. I'm just going to take a shower and go to bed. Good night, guys."

Callie and Arizona both watched her, bewildered, as she walked into their bedroom. Taking the bowl back from Arizona, Callie threw the remaining cards away and bid their two guests good night. Once Lexie and Mark had left, the two walked into the bedroom to see Erica lying face down on the bed.

"I thought you were going to take a shower," Callie said, sitting down on the edge of the bed as Arizona crawled across Erica to her other side.

"I'm too exhausted to work up the effort," Erica mumbled, motionless.

"Was it just a long day?" Arizona asked, gently rubbing her back.

"Not exactly…" Erica replied. Sighing, she rolled over. "I had a meeting with Shepherd today—"

_RING! RING!_

"Sorry," Arizona mumbled, grabbing her cell. Looking at the Caller ID, her face lit up. "It's Teddy! She hasn't called me since she left for the war! Can you fill me in later, babe? I really need to take this."

Erica closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and nodding. "It's fine. Go ahead."

Arizona kissed her cheek, skipping out of the bedroom to take the call. Callie chuckled as she heard Arizona's squeals through the door. "Teddy was Arizona's best friend before she left. Their bond was something like she has with you, but completely not sexual."

"She's back," Erica deadpanned, keeping her gaze at the ceiling.

"_What?_"

"You heard me." Erica buried her face in her pillow.

"So…she's here...and you…"

"That's what I thought at first too," Erica cut in, leaning up on her elbow. "When the name 'Teddy Altman' left Derek's mouth, I thought for sure I was finished here. But as it turns out, Teddy is here with completely different intentions. Apparently a man from her platoon has been admitted to Seattle Grace-Mercy West. I don't know all of the details yet. Shepherd sent me home early, saying that the next week or so was going to be brutal and this would most likely be the only night that I did not spend in the hospital. He said that I would get the full case details tomorrow."

"So…your job is still secure, right?" Callie asked softly, the weight of the revelation still hitting her.

"For now, I think it is," Erica replied. "But Teddy was here for a lot longer than I have ever been. She has roots here. I know I'm going to have to watch my back everyday until she leaves."

"And this has nothing to do with how close she is to Arizona?"

"No," Erica answered firmly. "I may not have known before that she had any connection to Arizona, but that has nothing to do with my issues with this situation. I try to keep my personal and professional life separate. You know that."

Callie snorted. "Says the one dating _two_ of her colleagues."

"This was a mishap that turned out for the better," Erica corrected, rolling her eyes. "But Christmas is the day after tomorrow. If this case is as big as Derek is making it out to be, then there is no way that taking off that day is an option. Arizona's going to kill me."

"Arizona is a doctor, too," Callie replied. "She will understand. Medicine comes first."

"This is her favorite holiday. She made me promise that I would ask off."

"Why don't we go to bed, and talk about it in the morning. I'm telling you, she will get over it. It's part of the job. We both know that."

**GREYS**

"_Now, I don't know Erica personally, but from what I've heard she is a bad seed. And when I met her today, she was totally cold."_

"What did you expect, Teddy?" Arizona replied, rolling her eyes. It was still sinking in the Teddy was at the hospital instead still in Iraq, speaking to her from a toll phone. "She probably thinks you are gunning for her job. If there was someone here in my field that was at your level, I wouldn't be particularly warm, either."

"_I'm not here for her job. Right now, she needs to fix Ryan, and I am here to make sure she does it right."_

"She is good at her job. Seattle Grace-Mercy West has the best of the best. You know that."

"_Of course. That is why we came here."_

"I can't believe you are back, Teddy! We have so much to catch up on!"

"_I know! From just the little bit of time I've been here, I can tell that a lot has changed. Like, for example, your love life. I never would've guessed that you would ever be polyamorous."_

"I didn't plan it," Arizona replied. "It just happened. And in some crazy, twisted way, it works. It's just chemistry, plain and simple."

"_I trust your judgment, Arizona, and Callie's. But I don't trust Erica past how she can help my friend. Are you sure you aren't getting yourself into trouble with such an extreme sort of relationship?"_

"Arizona!" Callie yelled from the bedroom, her head popping through the door. "Are you coming to bed soon? You sleep in the middle, and it's weird if you aren't here."

Arizona smiled, nodding her consent to Callie. Turning back to the phone, she told Teddy, "Oh, I'm sure. I'm very sure."

**GREYS**

Erica mouth popped open as she read over Ryan York's scans. She had never seen anything like this before. Turning to Teddy, who was standing behind her, she said, "You said it was a close call, but I didn't realize it was this close."

The scan showed an image of Ryan's heart. But right next to his heart, almost touching, was a large bullet. If this man had been shot even of fraction of an inch over, he wouldn't have even made it off the field. In fact, it was miracle he was living now.

"I didn't either…" Teddy muttered, shock written all over her face. "We didn't have the technology over there to get an x-ray of it. They just closed him up and sent him here. You'll save him, won't you?"

"There are so many possible complications," Erica replied, shaking her head. "I will do my best, but if the bullet or the scalpel so much as bumps his heart, it could do some serious damage. Not to mention the possibility of gangrene or infection…how long ago did this happen?"

"I'm not sure," Teddy answered, eyes glued to the scans. "A few days ago, maybe? When you're on the field, you lose track of time. Look, you have to save him. I'm not giving you an option. He saved our entire platoon. There was an enemy sniper up ahead. We didn't see him, but he saw our tanks as were travelling to a nearby location. Ryan saw him just as he fired the first shot. Ryan climbed out the top and crawled down the front of the tank. He managed to take out the sniper before he caused more harm, but took a bullet in return. I don't know you, Dr. Hahn. I don't know who you are or what you stand for. But Ryan is a man of honor. He will put his life on the line for someone else, no questions asked. He put his life on the line for you, for this country. You have to save him. He deserves to live a long and happy life."

"I'll do what I can," Erica replied, shrugging. It wasn't that she didn't care about his heroics. Professionally, she just couldn't make a promise she couldn't keep. This was a risky procedure. She knew what Teddy wanted to hear, but she couldn't melt from a heart-warming story.

"I understand professionalism, Dr. Hahn," Teddy spat, "but there is a fine line between being professional and apathetic. If this were Dr. Robbins or Dr. Torres—"

"I will do what I can to save your friend," Erica cut in coldly. "I am your best shot at saving him—you're only shot, really. So you would do well not to piss me off by bringing up my personal life in a professional environment. I didn't bring up your infatuation with Owen Hunt the second that I met you, did I?" She chuckled at Teddy's baffled expression. "I'm sure you are aware of the grape vine that travels through these halls. I'm sure I could grudge up plenty of your past if you choose to grudge up mine."

"Just fix Ryan," Teddy growled, pushing past her. "And unless you have something to say about him, stay the hell away from me."

As the door slammed, Erica chuckled and turned back to the scans. Groaning, she pulled it down and stuck it in the patient's folder. Checking her watch, Erica moved towards the door with plans to take a power nap and schedule Ryan's surgery for that very night, if only to get Teddy out of her hair as quickly as possible.

**GREYS**

"I hate her," Teddy declared, slamming her tray down as she slid in among her old friends. Arizona, Owen, and Mark looked up at her in surprise. "I don't know how you can look at her strutting around these halls and not cringe. She makes me want to kick a dog."

"She has that effect on people…" Mark agreed, crumbs of his sandwich falling from his mouth. "She gives you a look that makes you feel like your head has been slammed between elevator doors—"

"And then says she is just being professional!" Teddy exclaimed, slamming her fist in emphasis. "Exactly! It drives me crazy!"

"She _is_ just being professional," Arizona defended, rolling her eyes. "She doesn't know how not to be cold and impersonal when it comes to work-related subjects. Warm and fuzzy isn't in her vocabulary. But if you just met her in a bar and didn't know any different, she is kind of awesome."

Mark shook his head. "Not true. She probably wouldn't give you the time of day."

"No, Mark, that's just you," Arizona replied.

Owen bit back a snort at Arizona's comment, shooting Mark an amused look. "So, I'm guessing Ryan's scans have come back?" Owen knew Ryan from when he had been in the military. Ryan was just coming in as he was leaving, so they only met briefly, but Owen knew the integrity of the guy and was very concerned.

"It isn't looking good," Teddy replied, looking more exhausted just talking about it. "The bullet is so close to his heart. He would've had a better chance if they had opened him up and taken it out immediately, but now there are all sorts of complications. We just don't have the doctors we need over there to be able to save as many as are wounded every day. Or the medical supply, for that matter."

"What did Erica say about it?" Owen asked.

"She said that she would what she could, but that the risk is high and his chances are slim. I understand that. I'm a doctor, too. But it's the way she says it. It's like Ryan doesn't mean anything, as if he is just another patient. I've always tried to make every patient I see feel as if they are the most important. To her, patients are no more than the number on their wristbands."

"That isn't true," Arizona cut in. "Erica does have human emotions, you know. You make her sound like a robot. If she knew that was what you thought of her, I'm sure she would apologize."

All three burst into laughter. Mark spit soda all over the table at that comment. "Erica Hahn? Apologize? You can't be serious. That would never happen. You and Torres are the only ones she might even consider apologizing to."

Teddy shook her head. "Nice try, Robbins. I don't know what you see in her, but that warm heart you are so convinced she has is nowhere to be found. Sorry to disappoint."

Arizona narrowed her eyes defiantly. "Let's make this interesting. I bet you a night's worth of drinks at Joe's for all of us, including Callie _and_ Erica that I can get her to apologize to you by the end of Christmas Day."

Teddy laughed in disbelief. "You're on. But I'll warn you; after all of the months I've spent in Iraq, you will be paying a heavy tab."

Arizona whipped her head to Mark, crossing her arms. "Do you want in on this bet, smartass?"

Mark shook his head, smirking. "This is between you and Altman. I think I will just sit back and watch it play out."

"Fine," Arizona replied shortly, standing up and scooting in her chair. "I will see you all at Joe's. Teddy's paying."

**GREYS  
**

Erica groaned as the door to the on-call room opened, artificial light flooding the room. Opening an eye, she grinned, seeing her beautiful blonde standing in front of her. "Hey, babe. Are all of the little humans doing well?"

"Why?" Arizona demanded, crossing her arms. "Why are you so warm and fuzzy with me but so…ugh! You drive me crazy!"

Erica closed her eyes, knowing exactly what she meant. "I'm guessing you talked to—"

"Teddy hates you! Like the kind of hate that makes you want to kick dogs!"

"Well, if she ever thinks about kicking dogs, then maybe she is the one with the problem…" Erica grumbled, pulling the covers back around her.

"Hahn!" Arizona yelled, grabbing the covers and whipping them back. "I'm not joking! She is not the problem in this situation. You are the problem. Your people skills suck. Ryan means a lot to Teddy and you made her feel like you couldn't care less about him. There is a fine line between being professional and being cold, and you are icy."

Hahn rolled her eyes. "I'm sorry if I offended her because I didn't tear up at the story of his heroics. I'm going to save Ryan. The medicine is what matters, not the emotions. Now, can I have the blanket back?"

Arizona stared at her pointedly. Erica sighed, knowing this conversation was far from over. "Okay. Because you are my girlfriend, and Teddy was once your best friend, I will listen. What exactly did you come in here wanting me to do?"

"Apologize," Arizona replied bluntly, tilting her head. "And work on your people skills, but that is a more long-term goal."

"No," Erica snorted. "I am not going to apologize for being who I am. If she doesn't like it, she can get over it. I'm here for Ryan, not for her."

"But Erica—"

"Don't start, Arizona," Erica cut in, "All of the pouts and crocodile tears in the world could not change my mind on this one."

"Fine," Arizona scoffed indignantly. "Looks like you aren't getting laid any time soon. Not until you apologize to Teddy. And she was not _once_ my best friend. She still is."

Erica plastered on a smirk, ignoring the sting of that comment. "You see, that's the beauty of this relationship. You are not my only option. So if you choose to be stubborn, then you are only hurting yourself. I'm not apologizing. I will be civil, but I will not apologize."

Arizona huffed, moving to leave the on-call room. "We'll see," she muttered, slamming the door behind her.

Erica buried her face into her pillow, knowing this was not blowing over anytime soon.

**GREYS**

Making her way to Ryan's room to prep him for surgery, Erica took the stairwell. Her mind was still wrapped around the fight that she and Arizona were having. It was their first true fight. Even before, when they were just friends, they had never had any sort of heated discussion other than minor bickering. Erica knew how stubborn Arizona could be, but so was she. She had no reason to apologize to anyone, especially Teddy.

"So, why exactly am I not allowed to have sex with you?"

Erica playfully groaned, turning to see Callie coming down the stairs to meet her. "Did Arizona tell you that?"

Callie nodded, reaching her. "Something about an apology and a bet? I'm not entirely sure. Arizona was pretty huffy. I didn't catch every thing she said, except that she is pissed at you. And that I am not allowed, under any circumstances, to give you any sort of affection—especially sex."

Erica laughed, kissing her. "Well you aren't exactly adhering to her request. And I don't know about a bet, but she burst into the on-call room where I was sleeping to let me know that I had to apologize to Teddy."

"For what?"

"For being myself, basically. I don't get emotionally involved with patients, especially ones with as little hope as this one. It's nothing against Ryan, or Teddy for that matter, it's just business. Apparently Teddy doesn't like it. And since Arizona and Teddy are all buddy-buddy…"

Callie watched her knowingly. "I know that face. That is totally your jealous face. Are you jealous of Teddy's relationship with Arizona?"

"Well, I wasn't," Erica replied, leaning against the railing and pulling Callie against her. "But she totally threw it in my face when we were arguing earlier. Since we started dating, our relationship has changed. I've always thought it was for the better, like having both of my best friends with me all of the time, but now I'm not so sure. It's like I'm her girlfriend, not her friend. And Teddy is taking that spot now that she is back."

Callie rolled her eyes. "Arizona is _crazy_ about you. You know that. She gets really upset when you don't home at night. And you still have those inside jokes that go right over my head."

"I know," Erica replied. "I guess I just really don't like Teddy. And the fact that she could easily take my job—"

"She won't," Callie cut in, shaking her head. "And if that's even a possibility, it isn't right now. Right now you've got a life to save. Go save it."

"Are you actually going to listen to Arizona with this argument? You know, by refusing me sex?" Erica asked.

"I'm not getting into this," Callie replied, holding up her hands. "I am Switzerland. I am neutral. And I will be in the gallery rooting you on with Arizona at my side. Good luck."

Erica received one more kiss before leaving the stairwell and heading to Ryan's room. When she got there, Teddy was at his side, laughing with him. Ryan was young, made mid-twenties. His strength radiated from him. Seeing Dr. Hahn come into his room, his eyes lit up. "Hey, Dr. Hahn, what do you call a pack of angry gorillas?"

Teddy face dropped as Erica walked further into the room. Erica smirked. "What?"

"The Apes of wrath!" Ryan exclaimed, grinning. "Do you get it?"

Erica laughed, shaking her head, "Yes, I get it. That's a good one."

"He's got plenty of them," Teddy added. "I've been hearing them all afternoon."

"Get's your mind off of the bad news, huh?" Ryan replied cheekily.

"What bad news?" Erica asked, checking his vitals. "There isn't any bad news here. You are going into surgery, and when you get back, you will be all patched up. And I will expect an especially corny joke in return."

Ryan tried to laugh, but the laugh quickly turned into a groan. "So, surgery now?"

Erica nodded, calling in a couple of nurses to help wheel him in. Teddy took his hand to walk with him to the OR.

When they got to the final line before the OR, Ryan squeezed Teddy's hand and asked, "Hey Teddy, what does a Christmas tree order from an ice cream parlor?"

"What?" Teddy dutifully asked.

Ryan grinned. "I will let you know when I wake up. Don't let me forget."

"I won't," Teddy replied as the nurses took him back. As Erica turned to follow, Teddy grabbed her shoulder. "I have faith that you can do this. As a doctor, you are the best there is at what you do. We may have our differences, but if anyone can bring him back from this, you can."

"I will do my best, Dr. Altman," Erica replied without turning around. "Just go wait in the lobby. I will send an intern to give you periodical updates."

Teddy dropped her hand, nodding, and Erica continued into the operating room. Scrubbing in, she moved to Ryan's side. "You ready to take nap while we open you up?"

"A pine cone," Ryan said, locking her eyes.

"What?"

"That's what a Christmas tree orders from an ice cream parlor. Tell Teddy. You should never leave a joke hanging," Ryan said with tears in his eyes.

"Tell her yourself," Erica replied, motioning at the anesthesiologist to put him under.

Looking up at the gallery, she saw that it was packed full with curious doctors. Sitting right in the middle was Callie, an encouraging smile plastered on her face. Arizona was nowhere to be found. Shaking off the hurt and focusing on the task at hand, Erica began. "Ten blade."

**GREYS**

The room was dark. Ryan's family had yet to arrive, so Teddy and Erica were alone in his room, hoping that he would wake up. The surgery had been a success, without any major complications. But that was just the surface of a much deeper healing process that had yet to begin. The first real step was when Ryan finally woke up.

"Merry Christmas," Teddy called through the darkness.

Erica barked a laugh. "It's not such a merry Christmas, huh?"

Teddy chuckled dryly. "No, it most certainly isn't. But if Ryan wakes up then it will be."

Erica stayed quiet. The silence wrapped both of them as they each stared in the direction of Ryan's bed.

"If you want to get some sleep, you can go to an on-call room," Teddy finally said, cutting through the silence. "I'm sure they will page you as soon as he wakes up. I will make sure they do."

Erica smiled at the gesture, but shook her head. "I'm alright. I don't sleep so great on my own here as it is. I would rather just stay here."

"You don't sleep well without Callie and Arizona?"

Erica didn't answer right away. She didn't really want to think about her lovers at home without her. She was still pretty angry for Arizona not being there for her during the surgery. She understood that Ari was mad, but there was no excusing skipping out on such an important surgery.

Finally Erica replied, "I slept earlier. I'm fine. But I appreciate the offer."

"I'm not gonna lie. I was pretty surprised at how great you were with Ryan. His jokes are corny, but he treasures them. When he hit a rough patch while overseas, his girlfriend sent him a joke book chocked full of corny knock-knock jokes and one-liners. The only thing that really got him through it was reading those jokes. I've probably heard each of those a million times. But I'm glad you laughed. Thank you for laughing with him."

Erica shrugged. "The joke was funny."

"I'm not going to get a conversation out of you, am I?"

"I'm just concerned about Ryan, that's all," Erica answered. "I am aware of what you think of me. A cold, emotionless robot, I believe? And you are right. I don't get emotional. I don't really know what sympathy is. I suck at comforting. But what you are wrong about is that I don't care about my patients. I will do anything for my patients, especially in cases like Ryan. He could've died today. He still could. So if he needs me to laugh at his jokes and say 'Who's there?' when the time is right, then that is what I will do. However, if you are looking for an apology, you won't find one here. I don't apologize for who I am."

"Good," Teddy replied, laughing. "That means a free night at Joe's for me."

"Excuse me?"

"You know, because of the bet. Arizona is paying for a night of drinks for everyone at Joe's."

"She bet that she could get me to apologize," Erica deadpanned.

"Yeah…" Teddy answered, shifting uncomfortably. "She didn't tell you?"

"No," Erica muttered. "She didn't. Actually, I think I'm going to take that nap. If he so much a moves a muscle, page me immediately. If not, I will see you in the morning."

Teddy nodded, watching Erica's back as the door closed behind her.

**GREYS**

"Merry Christmas," a voice whispered, sliding under the covers and wrapping her chilled arms around Erica's slim waist. Erica instinctively leaned into the touch, her mind still groggy. As her mind began to clear, she immediately checked her pager.

Callie grabbed her wrist, pulling the pager away from her. "Arizona went to check on Ryan. I don't think he is awake yet. The nurses have been checking his vitals, and I'm assuming you told them to page you if anything changes, so I'm sure nothing has. So once Ari gets back, we can have our own little Christmas right here in the on-call room."

"I'm not really in the mood for Christmas right now, Cal," Erica replied, pulling away so she could sit up. Looking to her left, she saw stockings set up against the window ledge with presents below it. Shaking her head, she got out of bed, grabbing her scrubs from where she had thrown them.

"Why?" Callie asked, sitting back in confusion. "We set all of this up for you, so that we could all celebrate Christmas together. You said just a couple nights ago that you didn't want to miss it, and now you won't."

"Look, I'm just not in the mood, alright?" Erica snapped. "I've got a million things to do today, and they don't include either of you. I'm sorry."

"What is wrong with you, Erica?" Callie exclaimed, scrambling out of bed. "This is our first Christmas together. Why don't you want to spend it with us?"

"Did you know about the bet, Callie?" Erica bluntly asked, whipping around. "Were you in on it, too? I mean, I love to drink as much as the next person, but did you really need to manipulate me to get a free round? And Arizona—she didn't even show up last night! I looked up into the gallery, hoping to see my girlfriends watching me as I began one of the greatest surgeries of my career, and only you were there. She was nowhere to be found. I can't even look at her right now. So Merry Christmas, but I would really rather not be a part of it."

"I was with Teddy," Arizona sniffled from the doorway. Erica turned to see Arizona standing there, tears streaming down her face. "Last night, while you were performing surgery on Ryan, I stayed with Teddy in the waiting room. She was scared, and as much as I wanted to be there to watch you, she needed me more. I thought you knew that. And the bet was stupid. I didn't think it would hurt anything. I just wanted you and Teddy to get along."

"Teddy and I will never get along, Arizona," Erica coldly replied, trying not to melt from the tears. "Last night we were civil, but that is as much as we will ever be."

"Don't do that, Erica!" Arizona yelled, her voice catching. "Do not freeze me out. I made a mistake, but I am still your girlfriend. You're mad at me. I get that. But can you please put it aside for ten minutes so that we can have a decent Christmas together? Please?"

Erica closed her eyes, trying not to let down her guard. She looked back helplessly at Callie, who willingly stepped in. "Look, if we do this right now, today will always be remembered as 'The Most Hostile Christmas Ever.' I think Erica needs some to cool off a little. So let's just take all of this back home, and we will do it later."

"How much later?" Arizona whimpered.

"Whenever we are all home," Callie replied, squeezing Erica's waist as she passed her to steer Arizona away. Once Arizona was out of the room, she turned back to Erica. "Do not stay here if you don't have to. I don't care how pissed you are. We are making compromises for you, so you need compromise with us. And I do not want to ever see you freeze her out again. She is sensitive and you know it. Call me when you can."

Erica nodded. Callie moved closer, kissing her once. "I love you. And even though she made a stupid mistake by making a stupid bet, you love her too. So cool off and come home."

_BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!_

"It's Ryan," Erica mumbled, checking her pager. "I have to go." Swiftly passing Callie, she quickly left the on-call room. Arizona was nowhere to found, having already left to take the elevator down to the lobby. Erica sprinted down the stairs and made it to the Cardio wing in record time. As she passed the central station, she heard uproarious laughter coming from Ryan's room. She could see from here that it was packed full of people. Obviously his family had finally gotten here.

Promptly entering the room, Erica was greeted by the sound of the single voice she couldn't wait to hear. "Dr. Hahn! What type of hair-do does a hot dog wear?"

Erica grinned, relief flooding. "What type?"

"A bun!" Ryan yelled, laughing despite himself. "See, I promised you a corny joke when I woke up."

"Well, you certainly lived up to the promise," Erica chuckled, checking his vitals. "Everything seems to be normal. We're going to keep monitoring you, but you are still alive, which is a great start. You've got quite the journey ahead of you, but the worst is over. Congratulations, Ryan. You are one lucky man."

The room erupted in joyous exclamations. Teddy nodded in Erica's direction while receiving a hug from Ryan's mother. Erica stood away from the crowd, receiving far too many hugs for her comfort.

"Wait!" Ryan yelled, reaching into the drawer next to his bed. "I have something for Kate."

A lovely red head stepped forward, wiping tears out of her eyes as she sat on the end of his bed. Ryan grabbed her hand, smiling broadly. "I love you, Kate. You've been with me through everything. When I was overseas, some days the only thing that kept me going was the picture of you that I kept in my wallet. I can't imagine my life without your laugh, your smile, and your love of life. If I had died yesterday, my biggest regret would've been not putting this ring on your finger. So marry me, Kate. Make me the happiest man in the world by being my wife."

Kate nodded, thrusting her hand forward. Everyone in the room gathered around the bed to get a closer look at the riing. Teddy made her way over to Erica, leaning against the wall next to her. "I can't believe he is alive. I don't think this family could ever repay you."

Erica shrugged. "It's a part of the job. You save some, you lose some. Like I said, he is a very lucky man."

"He is so in love with her," Teddy chuckled. "She was all he talked about in Iraq. I feel like I know her personally from how much he talks about her. Seeing a love like that makes me wish I had something that special. But I guess you don't know how that is. You've already got something that special."

"Yeah," Erica replied softly, watching as Kate laughed at another one of Ryan's jokes. The gleam in her eye was that of pure bliss. Teddy was right. Erica did have something as special as that relationship.

"Look, I've got some rounds to finish and some business to take care of," Erica said to Teddy. "I don't think I will be able to come by to check on him again until later tonight at the soonest. The nurses can check his vitals and make sure he is healing properly. Can you just stay here and keep an eye on him? As a cardio surgeon, you know what to look for."

"Of course," Teddy replied. "Actually, do your rounds and then take the rest of the day off. I wasn't able to get Arizona a Christmas present on such short notice, so let her know that this is my Christmas present to her. I will take of Ryan, and I'll let Derek know where you are. If anything happens, I will be sure to page you."

Erica stared at her incredulously. "Are you serious?"

"Of course I am," Teddy replied. "Now get out of here before I change my mind."

Erica said her goodbyes to Ryan and his family, giving one last earnest nod in Teddy's direction. Once she had made her rounds around the rest of her patients, she left with plans to make a quick pit stop on her way home.

**GREYS**

"Hush, Sienna, you are supposed to be a surprise," Erica said to the bundle of fur she held in her arms. Arizona had been begging Callie for a dog since before Erica was even in the picture. After calling to get her consent, Erica swung by the dog shelter and picked up the rust-colored Blue Heeler puppy that was now wiggling in her arms.

Shortly after knocking, Callie answered the door. She swooned over the puppy in Erica's arms. "Say hello to Sienna," Erica said, passing the nervous pup over to Callie.

"She is adorable," Callie cooed, bringing Sienna into the house. "Arizona is in the bedroom watch _A Christmas Story_. Apparently it is on for twenty-four hours. I didn't tell her you were coming home. I assumed you wanted this little bundle of joy to be a surprise."

"Calliope?" Arizona called. "Is the popcorn ready?"

"I've got something a little better than popcorn, Ari," Callie yelled. "Come here."

The blonde poked her head out of the doorway. Her eyes immediately lit up as she took in the scene in the kitchen. "Erica!"

"Hey, babe," Erica grinned. Arizona immediately ran into the kitchen, wearing nothing but panties and a tank top, and made her way over. Callie managed to sneak the puppy into the bedroom while Arizona was distracted. Erica looked her over. "Is this a Christmas tradition? I certainly hope so."

Arizona rolled her eyes. "I only got dressed to go to the hospital." Her face grew serious. "Are you still mad at me?"

Erica moved around her to sit on the table. "Ryan proposed to his girlfriend this morning. He said that if he had died yesterday, his biggest regret would've been not putting a ring on her finger. Hearing him say that made me realize how selfish I was this morning. I have these two wonderful girlfriends who came into the hospital on their day off just to spend Christmas with me, and I refused. Yes, I was mad at you. And don't think you are off the hook for manipulating me for a bet. But I am lucky to have you in my life. I'm lucky that Callie gave me another chance. I am lucky to know that when I come home I will have three beautiful girls waiting for me."

"Three?" Arizona asked incredulously. "What, did you invite Bailey into this relationship without asking me?"

Erica laughed. "No, but we do have a new member of our little family."

A short bark came from the bedroom. Arizona eyes widened. "No way."

Erica grinned. "Go check her out. She's pretty sexy, if you ask me."

Arizona giggled, kissing her hard on the mouth. "I love you."

"I love you, too," Erica replied. "Now, go check out the puppy." Arizona didn't need to be told twice. Callie opened the door and the little ball of energy shot into the living room. Arizona squealed, chasing after her.

"I think Sienna and Arizona are going to get along well," Callie said, relaxing into Erica's arms.

Erica kissed her cheek. "Oh, they will be inseparable. I draw the line at sharing our bed, though. I have a crate for her in the car. We can set her up in the spare bedroom."

Callie sighed with content, snuggling closer. "Merry Christmas, Erica."

"Merry Christmas."

**GREYS**

**Read and Review!**


	17. Chapter 17

**I am so sorry for the wait! I know I haven't updated in a long while, but hopefully it is worth the wait! Read and Review!**

"Arizona! Take out your damn dog! She is about to pee all over, and you will have to clean it up!" Erica yelled while attempting to pour what was left of the coffee into her thermos.

"Oh, so she's my dog now?" Arizona yelled back, not leaving the bedroom.

"Since she chewed up my favorite pair of heels last night? Yes, she is yours. And it is your turn to take her out anyway. Now, Arizona!"

"Erica, she is a puppy. She is teething, and your shoes were just another victim. I'm still getting dressed, and you are ready to go. Why can't you just take her?"

Erica huffed, ready to pop a vein. It wasn't that she didn't love Sienna when she was being sweet and good. But in the matter of a month, that dog had chewed up more than her share of shoes, charts, books, and pillows. Not to mention her nasty habit of chewing on the legs of furniture. They even had to hide the T.V. remote to keep Sienna from chewing it to pieces again.

As if knowing what Erica was thinking, Sienna looked back at her, whining again. Erica sighed, knowing this was a losing battle. "Fine! I will take her out. Then I am leaving. Just make sure she has food, water, and plenty of toys and bones to keep her occupied please. And close the door to the bedroom! I do not want to come home to find bras strewn everywhere again unless it includes finding you and Callie naked in the next room."

Arizona giggled, finally leaving the bedroom and grabbing her bag from the coffee table. "I'd say that could be arranged, but Callie has barely been home in nearly a month, so it might just be me you find in the next room."

Erica grunted in agreement. Callie had been swamped with work all month. All of the ice that was covering Seattle meant many broken bones and lots of surgeries for Dr. Torres. However, all of those surgeries meant absolutely no time for her girlfriends. While the absence was understandable, Arizona and Erica were both most certainly affected. They weren't used to going this long without their third lover.

Sienna whined again, scratching at the door. Finally opening the door, Erica called behind her, "Don't forget to close our door completely. She will chew up our pillows. I will see you when you get to work."

Once the door slammed, Arizona muttered, "I love you, too…" The two of them had been in a funk since Teddy had arrived in town. Arizona wanted to believe that it was because Callie hadn't been around as much lately, but she was afraid it went deeper than that. She knew that Erica felt threatened by Teddy's presence in Arizona's life, not that she would ever admit it. As many times as Arizona reassured her that Erica came first, Erica was still shying away. It was driving a wedge between them, and Arizona had no idea how to fix things.

Sighing, she filled Sienna's bowls and puppy-proofed the living room and kitchen, hoping that she hadn't forgotten anything to upset Erica further. Just as she was making her way out the door, her phone beeped.

_Hey beautiful. I miss you. Lunch today? Maybe we could picnic over at that clearing overlooking Seattle. –Callie_

Arizona smiled, her chest aching with emptiness. Just the simple text made Arizona miss Callie even more. She had been wanting to talk to Callie about everything that was going on with Erica, but she had been too busy to even stop and say hello.

Sending a text to confirm plans, Arizona locked the door and made her way to the hospital. Taking the elevator, she slipped out of the apartment complex without running into Erica and the little monster.

**GREYS**

"_You didn't even page me?"_ Erica exclaimed, fuming. She stood outside of Ryan's room with Teddy, pacing back and forth while trying not to strangle her.

Teddy shrugged. "It was just a temperature spike. I'm a doctor; I know how to take care of that. No need to page you over something so simple."

Erica scowled. "If you are such a great doctor, then you should know that a temperature spike could mean numerous things, including infection from the bullet wound. Ryan is my patient. You've already taken some of my other patients, so I would appreciate if you would—"

"This isn't a competition, Hahn!" Teddy practically screeched. "We aren't competing to see who has the most patients. Ryan is a full time job. Derek gave me some your patients so that you would have more time to deal with him. We've gone over this a million times. You were off work, so I took care of Ryan for you. If anything, you should be appreciative."

"You are not Ryan's doctor," Erica repeated. "You are a family friend. It is hospital protocol that doctors do not provide any sort of medicine for kin. So give me the damn chart and go do your own rounds. Just stay the hell out of my way."

"I don't know what your problem is," Teddy growled. "And I have no clue what the hell Arizona sees in you. Or what Callie sees, for that matter. If you are this heartless with your colleagues, I can only imagine how you treat them." Before Erica could respond, Teddy made her way out of sight. Taking a deep breath, Erica made her way into Ryan's room.

"So, how are you this morning?" Erica cordially asked, trying to keep the stress out of her voice.

Ryan rolled his eyes, flipping the T.V. to ESPN. "I am ready to go home, Dr. Hahn. I feel fine; the nurses say my vitals are healthy. I had a little fever last night, but it wasn't anything that Advil couldn't have taken care of. Don't you think it's time to let me go?"

Erica smirked. They had a variation of this conversation every day. "Believe me, Ryan, I want you out of my hair as much as you do. But that fever took a little more than Advil to cure. We've hit quite a few bumps like that. You know this. But I promise, once everything is smooth sailing you will be out of here."

"You say that every time…" Ryan mumbled, burrowing deeper into his bed.

"Only because you doubt me every time," Erica quipped, going over his chart yet again. "But everything seems fine for now. If you need anything, page me."

"I might page you for pudding in the middle of the day," Ryan retorted, smirking.

"If you need pudding, ask Teddy," Erica grumbled, putting his chart down and continuing her rounds.

**GREYS**

"Just break up with her already!" Teddy yelled, leaning against the pediatric nursing station. "I swear she sucks the life out of anyone that spends more than a second with her, and you sleep with her!"

Arizona rolled her eyes. "I am not breaking up with Erica. Granted, without Callie there, things have been a little strained lately. But that doesn't mean I am going to throw in the towel. Why do you hate her so much?"

"It's a mutual hate. She is so fucking competitive that she wouldn't know companionship if it bit her in the ass. Like, for example, I was already at the hospital last night when Ryan's temperature spiked. I knew that she was home with you, and that you would be pissed if I brought her in for something that little, so I took care of it myself. When she came in this morning and I let her know, she was a total bitch about it! There is no winning with her."

"You don't mess with her patients," Arizona replied, continuing with her charts. "That is one of her biggest pet peeves. She is a great companion, Teddy. Or she can be. She is just cranky right now."

"Well next time you two get it on, try to take the stick out of her ass while you are at it," Teddy muttered. Arizona laughed, bumping Teddy's hip.

"Hey, why don't we get drinks after work? I think we could both use a little alcohol to loosen us up," Arizona suggested.

"Yes, please," Teddy willingly agreed. "Erica-free drunkenness, if you don't mind."

Arizona sighed. "I don't mind at all. I could use a little time away from her, even just for one night. Maybe I could stay at your place tonight afterward?"

"Absolutely," Teddy replied, looking up just in time to see Callie walk into Ped's. "Well, don't let me keep you. Have fun with lunch. See you tonight."

Arizona nodded distractedly, a grin already plastered on her face at the Latina sauntering toward her. Callie's face lit up as soon as Arizona came into view. Arizona wheeled over to her, immediately wrapping her arms around Callie's waist and kissing her fully. Callie smiled into the kiss, willingly reciprocating. "I missed you, too."

"Oh, you have no idea," Arizona replied, pulling her closer. "Things have been so weird at home. Erica is really pulling away. I don't know what to tell her to make things better."

Callie shook her head. "I'm not getting into the middle of that. Let's just go have lunch and spend some time together. I will talk to Erica later and see what is going on."

Arizona grinned gratefully. Taking Callie's hand, she led her out of Ped's and down the hall toward the parking lot.

**GREYS**

Erica sat in the attendings' break room, eating a tuna-fish sandwich she had grabbed from the cafeteria after a routine surgery and fuming over what had gone down with Teddy. Teddy had no right to even touch Ryan's chart, much less give him medical treatment of any kind. As much as Erica wanted to just vent to someone about everything, she knew that Callie was incredibly busy and that Arizona would just take Teddy's side. Erica did not make friends easily, and so she really did not have any other close colleagues within the hospital.

"Why are you eating in the dark?"

Erica cringed at the door slamming open and Mark's voice bellowing through the room. Closing her eyes from the sudden light flooding the room and taking a deep breath, she calmly replied, "I am eating my lunch in peace. So, if you don't mind…"

"Alone?" Mark asked, completely ignoring her request. "In the dark?"

"Yes, Sloan, alone and in the dark," Erica growled. "I don't particularly like company and the dark was keeping the headache that is now pounding from seeping in. So thank you for ruining my lunch, and probably the rest of my day. Good bye, Sloan."

Sloan took it all in stride, sitting beside her. Putting his feet up on the table, he inspected the blonde closely, his eyes narrowing. Sighing, he shook his head. "Alright, Hahn, what's up? This is more than your usual crabbiness, so something must be bugging you."

"If anything were wrong, then why the hell would I tell you?" Erica spat, watching him reproachfully.

"Because we used to be friends, Erica," Mark replied. "Believe it or not, at one point I actually liked you as a person. I also liked you as a piece of ass, but that is beside the point. The point is that the one and only reason that I've wanted nothing to do with you these past few months was because of what you did to Callie. But considering the circumstances, she is obviously over it, so I am too. So what's up?"

Erica snorted. "Just because you have suddenly turned over a new leaf and have decided that you want to be close again, as if we ever were, that does not mean that I don't still think you are a pompous asshole that gets what he wants with a pretty face and lackluster talent. Some of us aren't going to fall into your arms and tell you all our secrets because you throw in a smoldering look with a compliment or two. Don't be so naïve, Sloan."

Sloan scoffed. "My talent is not lackluster. I happen to be the best in my field and have a pretty face, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that."

Erica smirked, rolling her eyes. "Alright, hot shot. Why are you actually here interrupting my lunch?"

"Because you have been storming around this hospital all day looking like you are ready to blow a fuse any second. And I don't see anyone else lining up to let you vent. You really don't have very many friends, do you? Are you that unlikable?"

"No, but you certainly are…" Erica muttered. "Alright. Do you think it is okay for a friend of a patient to give medical advice or treatment to a patient, even if that friend is a doctor, too?"

"Absolutely not," Mark replied, leaning back. "The only person that should be giving any sort of medical treatment to a patient is the doctor of that patient or a nurse."

"Thank you!" Erica exclaimed. "So I wasn't out of line for getting pissed at Altman for treating her army friend, who is my patient and spiked a fever last night, instead of paging me and getting a nurse."

"No," Mark answered. "You weren't the one that was out of line, she was. And if that continues to be an issue, I would tell Shepherd and let him deal with it. Teddy completely crossed the line."

"That is exactly how I feel," Erica agreed, rubbing her temples. "I just can not wait until Ryan gets better so Teddy is not here anymore."

"Because she crossed the line or because of Arizona?"

Erica paused for a moment before replying, "Both."

Mark chuckled. "She bugs you, huh?"

Erica sighed, looking over at Mark. "You know how you and Callie are just so ridiculously close? Like, you _know_ her deep into her soul in a way that neither Arizona nor I can touch. Sometimes I see you catch her eye from across the lobby and she cracks the same smirk already plastered on your face. Arizona and I used to be like that. We were so crazy in-tune that not even Callie understood half of what went on between us. On a friendship level, I have never been that close to anyone in my life. I am not an easy person to get along with, much less really get to know. So when all of this went down with Teddy this morning, I immediately wanted to go find Arizona and let it all out so I could finish my rounds and have a normal day. But then I realized that I couldn't, because Teddy is her person now, her best friend. I don't have that connection with her anymore. So yeah, I'm kind of in a shitty mood."

Mark nodded thoughtfully. Erica rolled her eyes, shoving his feet off the table. "Why am I even telling you this? You don't care about anything except good hair and cute nurses."

"Hey!" Mark protested. "I am in a committed relationship now, thank you very much. For your information my range of caring is rather large and varied, but friendship is at the top of the list. And since we are now friends again, whether by force or not, then I do care about what you have to say. Now, I never got to know Teddy all that well when she was here. But if your friendship with Arizona is anything like mine with Cal's, then you don't have anything to worry about. And as far as the relationship part goes, she will side with you every time. I would never side with someone else over Lexie. That would get me kicked out of bed. I'm assuming it's the same with you lesbians, but I could be wrong."

Erica smirked. "You were this decent guy for one second, and then the asshole came crashing back."

Mark shrugged, grabbing her sandwich and taking a large bite. "That's just my style. But you know what I mean. And at the very least, Teddy will not be here forever. As soon as Ryan is gone, so is she. Then everything will go back to being all hunky dory in lezzie-land."

"Sloan!"

"I'm sorry," Sloan corrected, smirking. "Threesome lezzie-land. Where all the lady-loving ladies munch on tacos and Sapphic salads. Correct?"

"You are such a pig," Erica laughed, kicking him under the table. "But you're right. Once Ryan is well enough to discharge, she will be out of my hair. And that day can not come soon enough."

**GREYS**

At the end of a very long day, Arizona leaned against the wall next to the elevator, waiting for it to appear. After such a busy day, she was ready for a little girl-bonding time with Teddy. Her short break with Callie was the only time she had been off her feet all day, and even that was cut short by a 911 page for an emergency surgery. Arizona's mouth watered at the thought of one of Joe's martinis.

Looking down the hall, her eyes widened to see Teddy leaving Derek's office. Catching her eye, Teddy paled at Arizona's inquisitive look. She slowly padded down the hall, attempting to brighten up before reaching Arizona. The two walked into the elevator together. As the doors shut, Teddy politely asked, "Long day?"

"Why were you in Shepherd's office?" Arizona bluntly inquired, not one for awkward small talk.

Teddy sighed, leaning against the elevator. "Don't worry about it. Let's just have fun tonight, okay?"

Arizona's eyes narrowed. "So you aren't going to tell me?"

"It really isn't important, Arizona," Teddy replied. "Shepherd called me in to ask a couple of meaningless questions and then have some decent small talk. Can we just go to the bar and drink away this shitty afternoon?"

Arizona nodded. "Yes, please."

**GREYS**

"I heard you and Mark actually had a civil conversation. That was most likely a Kodak moment."

Erica jumped at the sound of her Latina lover's voice behind her from where signed charts at the nurses' station. She immediately whipped around and embraced Callie in a hug. Callie gasped at the unusual amount of public affection that Erica was displaying. "Oh my God, I've missed you," Erica mumbled into her hair.

Callie chuckled. "I missed you, too. I'm sorry I haven't been around lately. This is one of the most hectic times of year for me."

Erica nodded. "I know. We're doctors. Our career comes first. It's just nice to actually get to talk to you for a moment before you are whisked off again."

"Actually," Callie replied, wrapping her arms around Erica's waist, "I am off-call for the night. I am not due in until noon tomorrow. So that means we can spend a little bit of alone time together. You know, just us?"

Erica shot Callie a confused glance. "What about Arizona?"

"She is with Teddy for the night. They are having a girls' night at Joe's. Didn't she tell you?"

"No…" Erica grumbled, pulling Callie's arms away and returning to her charts. "When did she mention it to you?"

"We had lunch earlier. I had checked the schedule and saw that you had surgery so I didn't bother to tell you. But she said that things have been kind of strained between the two of you lately. Maybe it will be good for you to get some space from her. And we haven't spent any time alone together in ages. I even made reservations at that bistro you like downtown."

Erica rolled her neck, releasing the tension, and turned back to Callie. "It sounds wonderful, babe. I've just got a couple of patients to check on and then I am yours for the night. I'll meet you at home?"

Callie beamed, kissing Erica lightly. "See you soon."

Erica watched her leave, feeling lighter than ever. A little time with Callie was just what she needed to really feel better after all this mess with Teddy and Arizona. She really, truly could not wait until Ryan was discharged.

Making her way up the stairs to head to the Cardiac Wing to check on Ryan one last time, Erica was stopped by Derek Shepherd. "Dr. Hahn, I've been meaning to talk to you. Do you mind coming by my office tomorrow morning? I have a meeting, so I don't have time to talk to you now."

"Of course," Erica complied, her brow furrowing. "If you don't mind me asking, what is it about? It seems that every time I come to your office it is never good news."

Derek trained his eyes to the floor. "We will talk about it tomorrow. Have a good night, Dr. Hahn."

Erica continued up the stairs, her head filled with what was to come. Maybe, just once, this wouldn't be bad news? Knowing Seattle Grace-Mercy West, that wasn't likely.

**GREYS**

"Another shot, and keep them coming," Arizona called, beckoning Joe. Joe poured her another with a weary eye. He looked over at Teddy for reassurance.

"Don't worry, I've got her under control," Teddy assured him, taking another shot herself. She and Arizona were enjoying their night together, just relaxing and not thinking about all of the stress at work. The two had already taken quite a few shots on top of a couple martinis. Joe had the taxi on speed-dial, as neither was fit to drive in this state.

"Yeah, Joe," Arizona said, giggling. She turned around on her stool to watch Karev, who was across the room drinking a beer with his chick-of-the-week. Arizona grimaced. "You know, to be so great with kids, Karev really is a jackass. You'd never guess by the way he treats the women he is with that he is an up and coming Ped's surgeon.

Teddy shrugged. "He's been through a lot. From what I've heard, his upbringing wasn't the best and then his wife left him. Women haven't treated him that great either."

"I know that," Arizona replied, sloppily rolling her eyes. "I'm just saying. If Alex doesn't want to keep getting hurt, he should find a decent woman that isn't going anywhere and wants what he wants in life. Then he can settle down into the life of a rock star surgeon and stop leading women around by their vaginas."

Teddy nearly choked on her martini. "You get crude when you're drunk, don't you? And not everyone has it as easy in the romance department as you do, Robbins. You got lucky, but if a crack appeared in the foundation of your relationship, you would be right where Karev is."

Arizona shook her head back and forth emphatically. "There is no crack."

Teddy snorted. "Why, did you pinky-promise to stay together forever? I'm just saying. I doubt Karev expected Izzie to leave him with some unreasonable excuse and never look back. I bet he didn't see the foundation of his relationship crumbling until it crashed. Doctors are always coming and going at Seattle Grace-Mercy West. Let's be realistic. Relationships don't last. It is as simple as that."

"When did this turn into another discussion about Erica?" Arizona asked, thumping her head against the bar. "Look, I know you hate her. But I like her. So can we just make her an off-limits topic, please? Or can you at least stop being such a negative Nancy? We came here to hang out and let loose. So—Mark!"

Teddy turned around to see Mark heading into the bar. Seeing Arizona waving frantically from her seat, Mark shot her a bewildered glance and came over toward them. "Hey ladies," Mark said, getting Joe's attention for a beer. "Having fun?"

Arizona nodded, leaning into Teddy. "We're having a girls' night," she slurred.

Mark chuckled. "I see. Well then, I will take my drink and wait for Lexie to get off work over there." He shot Teddy an apprehensive look. "Cut her off soon," he warned, knowing perfectly well how much alcohol Arizona could handle.

Teddy nodded distractedly, giving her attention back to Arizona, who was nursing yet another martini. Taking it away from her, she finished it off herself. Before Arizona could protest she said, "Slow down a little. I don't want you blacking out because you drank a little too much."

Arizona turned away from her and went back to studying Alex. Teddy tapped her fingers against the bar distractedly. She didn't notice Arizona moving her attention back to her. "So, what were you talking to the Chief about?"

Teddy groaned. "I thought that was an off-limits subject."

"No, Erica is…" Arizona began, but stopped herself when her alcohol-induced mind finally realized what Teddy was implying. "Well, I want to know what you talked to Shepherd about. So it's not off-limits anymore."

Teddy shook her head. "Let's just go back to my apartment—"

"No!" Arizona stubbornly replied, bracing herself against the bar to keep from being pulled away. "Stop changing the subject."

"Just trust me, Arizona," Teddy said, grabbing her elbow. "It isn't something you want to get into tonight. Let's just go back to my apartment. We can watch Sex and the City and talk about super awesome surgeries, just like we used to."

"Wait," Arizona cried, pulling away and trying the clear her head enough to actually talk to Teddy. "Teddy, why won't you tell me what your meeting was about? We don't keep secrets from each other. I tell you everything."

Teddy sighed, turning away. "Because what I talked to Shepherd about might put a crack in your foundation. It might ruin your relationship with Erica. And I am sorry for that. But I have to put myself and what I want first. Look, I don't want to be the bad guy tonight. I just want to hang out with my best friend and watch Sex and City. So can we drop it, please?"

"What the hell are you talking about, Teddy?" Arizona asked, looking at her with glazed-over eyes and hiccupping lightly.

"Yeah, what are you talking about?" Mark asked from behind her. "I couldn't help but overhear."

Teddy turned to Mark, mumbling under her breath, "I guess everyone will know soon enough anyway…"

Mark slid over to the stool next to Teddy, keeping an eye on Arizona in the process. Arizona looked like she was trying to pay attention to what Teddy was going to say, but her mind was too bogged with alcohol to comprehend. He called for a glass of water for Arizona and turned his attention back to Teddy. "So what is this about a meeting with Shepherd?"

"I asked for my job back," Teddy muttered. "I was the head of Cardio for much longer than Erica ever was. It's my place, and I certainly earned it. Ryan is getting better, and should be discharged soon. But the platoon that Ryan and I were in is returning soon, and I have no intention of returning to Iraq. I realize there isn't room for both Hahn and I. I know that if I am given the opportunity then that means Erica is gone."

"What did Derek say?"

"He said he would think about it and let me know soon. I'm assuming he is going to talk to Hahn and most likely reassess both of our skills in the field. I'm sure he will see that I am the better fit for this hospital."

Mark shook his head, standing up and grabbing his coat. "Make sure Arizona is okay and doesn't have a massive hangover in the morning."

"I thought you were waiting for Lexie," Teddy said.

"I'll text her. I've got other things to take care of right now. And so do you. Call a cab and get her back to your apartment safely."

Teddy nodded, quickly realizing where Mark was headed. Erica may be dating her best friend, but she is dating his best friend too. This was a nasty battle ahead, and she knew it.

**GREYS**

Callie leaned and gave Erica a gentle kiss. The two were cuddled together on the couch, semi-watching some cooking show on Food Network. Sienna was already asleep in her kennel in the spare room. The night had been perfect. Callie was more than pleased to get to spend a little time alone with Erica. As much as she loved spending time together with both her girls, she also loved getting separate attention from each one. Sighing, she snuggled further into Erica's chest.

Erica grinned, rubbing her back lightly. "I'm so glad you are finally off-work. I've missed you."

"I missed you too, babe," Callie replied. "You really are just a cuddly romantic, aren't you?"

"Don't let it get around the hospital," Erica joked, putting a finger to her lips.

Callie laughed. "Yeah, wouldn't want to tarnish that spotless reputation."

"Hey!" Erica protested. "My reputation is spotless. I'm not the one always getting caught in on-call rooms by a certain blonde's young patients…"

"That was once!" Callie screeched, slapping her in the shoulder. "Arizona's patient should not have been wandering around the hospital. I blame the parents for not keeping an eye on him."

"I blame you for not at least choosing an on-call room further from Arizona's wing," Erica quipped, holding the struggling Latina tighter. "Oh, don't be like that. You know I'm kidding."

_KNOCK! KNOCK!_

"Who the hell could that be?" Erica groaned.

"Let me in, guys! It's important!" Mark's voice called from the other side of the door.

"Go away, Mark," Erica yelled back, rolling her eyes. "Callie and I are two socks away from fully undressed and getting it on."

"_Erica!_" Callie hissed, giggling.

"Good, then I can watch," Mark retorted, knocking louder. "Come on, this is serious. You guys need to hear this—especially you, Erica."

Callie quickly untangled herself and answered the door. "What about Erica?"

Mark made his way in, settling down in the chair across from Erica. "Teddy is gunning for your job."

"_What?_" Erica cried incredulously. "There is no way in hell. She is leaving within the next month, just as soon as Ryan is gone."

Mark shook his head. "Maybe not. Apparently she had a conversation with Derek earlier. She wants her job back. She told me over at Joe's."

"That's what Shepherd wanted to talk to me about," Erica muttered, raking her fingers through her hair. "He told me to come by tomorrow. He looked kind of distraught, but I was getting ready to meet up with Callie so I didn't think much of it."

"I'll talk to him tomorrow," Mark said. "Once I talk to him, he'll take your side. There is no way Altman is taking your job."

Erica chuckled. "That is quite the jump from when I first got here and you were begging Derek to force me out. But don't worry about it, Sloan. This is my battle to fight, and I am not giving up this job and what I've got here for anything."

"Tell that to Shepherd," Callie cut in meekly, speaking for the first time since the news had been broken.

"I'm going to," Erica replied. "This is my job. Teddy doesn't belong here. Did she tell Arizona?"

Mark shrugged. "Well, she was there when Teddy told me. But she had way too much alcohol in her system to know what the hell was going on. I doubt she will remember her saying anything by tomorrow."

"That is probably for the best," Erica said. "No need to put her in the middle of it."

"This is a fight between you and Teddy," Callie countered. "Of course she is in the middle of it. Both of us are."

Erica turned to Callie. "I'm not going anywhere. I promised you I wouldn't leave, and I'm not going to. If Teddy wants my job, she will have to go to hell and back to get it."

"Let the battle begin…" Mark muttered. Erica nodded, leaning back against the couch. It would be quite the battle indeed.

**GREYS**

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